The businesses of Kangaroo Island in South Australia want interstate companies to stop using the “Kangaroo Island” name, but as yet there are no general systems or laws protecting geographical names of tourist destinations in Australia, says Sean McManis, partner at Shelston IP in Sydney.

Jamberoo Action Park, located on the south coast of New South Wales, has adopted the name Kangaroo Island for the park’s development, according to the website of Kangaroo Island Australia.

A spokeswoman for the Jamberoo Action Park told The Border Mail that it has not breached any laws. “It used the word ‘kangaroo’ to project an ‘Australiana’ theme and ‘island’ because its new attractions are surrounded by a man-made watercourse called the Lazy River.”

This raises concern on whether Australia’s destinations need to be trademarked, says McManis.

The Kangaroo Island Futures Authority (KIFA) has been discussing options to seek a registered and certified trademark for the island with IP Australia. “We are in the early stages of collecting information to address the trademark issue for Kangaroo Island and we are liaising with IP Australia which has provided information on the requirements for registration of a trademark to protect the regions’ products,” Kristina Roberts, general manager of the KIFA, tells Asia IP.

Justin Harman, a chairman of a food industry group on the island, told ABC News that businesses on the island have strived to raise the island’s profile and deserved trademark protection, as the “producers have been value adding for about 20 years.”

Roberts notes that there is plenty of competition for use of the name. “There’s a Kangaroo Island Shop, but it’s not on Kangaroo Island at all. It’s on the south Australia mainland at Goolwa and doesn’t actually stock any produce from the island,” she says.

Besides shops and producers, islands are also joining the Kangaroo brand. “There is a number of little islands scattered around Australia that already have the name ‘Kangaroo Island,’ as well as our fairly large island,” Harman said.

Roberts admits that a trademark has the potential to provide some protection but it will not provide blanket coverage, as there are “exclusions including previously registered ‘Kangaroo Island’ trademarked products; retailers misusing the ‘Kangaroo Island’ name and infringements outside Australia. A separate process to register the trademark would need to be undertaken in each international region where cover is required.”

On the other hand, McManis disagrees with the idea of trademarking destinations for economic and ownership reasons. “I do not think that there should be a separate system for trademarking Australian destinations,” he says. “Destinations are different from specific events or particular buildings. Apart from identifying location boundaries, there are ownership problems. When talking about general geographical locations, there may be many different traders with many different interests, and it is important to ensure that legitimate trading activities are not discouraged or impeded.”

He encourages destinations to better market themselves by designing logos with names than to trademark names. “Rather than protecting destination names per se, tourist authorities should develop and make prominent use of distinctive logo designs,” which can be registered as trademarks and could promote destinations.

Regardless of the outcome, Roberts hopes that her move can encourage other destinations that suffer the same to rise. “We’re leading with this and hoping that other regions will be able to follow.”