What's The Difference Between A Trade Secret And A Patent? (Video)

New Zealand patent prosecution has evolved significantly since the Patents Act 2013, developing its own examination culture distinct from Australia. With inventive step now central to examination, fixed divisional deadlines, and compressed prosecution timetables, applicants must make strategic decisions earlier than in other jurisdictions to preserve claim scope and maintain flexibility throughout the patent process.

A licensing agreement lets one business use intellectual property another business owns, without transferring ownership. Companies in the same group in New Zealand often share a brand or a system with nothing in writing. Each company remains a separate legal entity under the Companies Act 1993, regardless of who owns the shares. An undocumented arrangement gives the user no right it can prove and no right it can defend. That gap shows up when a shareholder falls out, an entity sells, or a liquidator arrives.

In this article, we discuss a rare and long-awaited New Zealand Intellectual Property (IP) court judgment, one that seems to have generated significant interest, Zuru New Zealand Ltd v Lego Holdings A/S (2025) NZCA 650...

The EUIPO multi-jurisdictional design searching platform now includes design data from IP Offices in New Zealand.

What do the Rugby World Cup and intellectual property lawyers have in common? The Major Events Management Act.

Most popular music followers will instantly recognise the pulsing background beat of Eminem's Grammy and Academy Award winning track "Lose Yourself".

Intellectual property is a significant business asset so you should consider how best to protect or to commercialise it.

To understand how to maximise the value of intellectual property rights, it is first necessary to understand the factors that affect the value of those rights.

New Zealand also needs a PVR regime that protect kaitiaki interests in indigenous plants consistent with te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi.

A recent appeal of a non-use revocation action in Aotearoa New Zealand demonstrates how important it is to take appropriate action in the first instance, if a registered New Zealand trade mark...