Blow for 2032 Olympic venue as ‘Brisbane Stadium’ trademark rejected

September 3, 2026 — 5:00amThe Queensland government body responsible for delivering infrastructure for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games has failed in its bid to protect its preferred name for Brisbane’s showpiece venue.The Games Independent Infrastructure and Co-ordination Authority has been told the term “Brisbane Stadium” did not qualify for trademark protection.GIICA’s application sought protection across a broad range of categories, including clothing, sporting goods, entertainment, hospitality and accommodation services.The proposed Brisbane Stadium at Victoria Park.Queensland governmentThe rejection was a blow for GIICA, which recommended in its 100-day review that the Victoria Park stadium be named Brisbane Stadium “in perpetuity”, eschewing the kind of corporate sponsorship that resulted in nearby Lang Park being renamed Suncorp Stadium.“Under this arrangement, commercial naming rights would not be made available, irrespective of the seemingly attractive remunerative arrangements which might be offered,” GIICA said in its review.“Any financial sum offered to name a stadium is one which the city can afford to reject, as the sought-after value to any corporate entity is of much more value and importance to the city of Brisbane.The proposed Brisbane Stadium in Victoria Park.Queensland government“The use of the name ‘Brisbane Stadium’ in conversations and media coverage nationally and globally before, during and after major events is a vital branding opportunity for Brisbane which should not be given away.”But in its decision notice to GIICA, obtained by this masthead, IP Australia examiner Neishya Harrison made it clear the name would not qualify for trademark protection.Harrison said as “Brisbane” referred to Queensland’s capital city and “stadium” referred to a sporting facility, taken together the words would be understood as indicating any goods and services provided at any stadium in Brisbane.“Other traders should be able to use Brisbane Stadium in connection with goods or services similar to yours,” she said.GIICA, through its lawyers Minter Ellison, received the notice from IP Australia last year and was given a deadline of August 23 to resolve all issues.That deadline passed last week, meaning the application lapsed.A GIICA spokesman said: “GIICA holds a trademark for ‘Brisbane Stadium’ effective from 11 April 2025, which superseded an earlier application that was no longer required and as such lapsed last week.”But University of Queensland trademark expert Professor John Swinson, an arbitrator for the World Intellectual Property Organisation in Geneva, said that protected trademark – at the time described as a placeholder logo – would not be enough to protect the Brisbane Stadium name.The Brisbane Stadium logo registered with IP Australia last year.IP AustraliaSwinson said any proven infringement would have to be visually “substantially similar” to the image registered with IP Australia.That image depicts light towers, which will not feature in the stadium’s design.“If you had Brisbane Stadium with no logo, or with a different logo, there’d be an argument – a good argument – that it doesn’t infringe, particularly seeing they weren’t able to get Brisbane Stadium as words alone,” Swinson said.Swinson said the only way GIICA, or the Queensland government down the track, could hope to get trademark protection would be to use the name for a substantial period of time.“If you started a new museum and you called it Queensland Museum, they’d just say, ‘Well, that’s descriptive of any museum in Queensland’,” he said.“But Queensland Museum was able to get Queensland Museum registered because they said, ‘No, it’s not [descriptive] – we’ve been using it for over 160 years, and when people say Queensland Museum, they think of us’.“Similarly, when the University of Queensland got registered it didn’t mean any university in Queensland. It meant the one at St Lucia that everyone refers to as the University of Queensland.“Bundaberg Rum is the same – it doesn’t mean any rum from Bundaberg, it means the one with the polar bear on the bottle. People know that’s what it is.“Well in this case, the authority hasn’t had use because it’s a new stadium – they can’t say, ‘People associate Brisbane Stadium with us’ because no one’s even heard of Brisbane Stadium.”Swinson said the venue could still be named Brisbane Stadium – that name just would not be protected.“It’s not like a business name registration where you must have it registered before you use it,” he said.“If you don’t register a trademark, you just don’t have any trademark protection in relation to it.”Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie would not answer questions about whether the Queensland government had accepted GIICA’s recommendation to use “Brisbane Stadium” in perpetuity, or whether it was considering the sale of naming rights.“The Crisafulli government’s focus right now is delivering the Brisbane Stadium for 2032 and beyond after 1200 days of Labor Games chaos,” he said.Under Queensland legislation, Suncorp Stadium takes on the name “Brisbane Stadium” during events that require non-commercial venue names, such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 and next year’s Rugby World Cup.Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. 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