A recent New Zealand domain name decision highlights the perils of delaying a challenge to the registration of a domain name, in Electrosafe Limited/Wayne Fowler v e-merge Data Solutions Limited/Hayden Wells [2023]...

The court gave a fillip to performing artists by finding Topshop liable in passing off to Rihanna for use of her image.

This article discusses domain names: what they are, why they are important, and how rights in them are obtained.

In The Premium Liquor Co. Limited v Hint, Inc. [2021] NZIPOTM 24 (30 August 2021) the Assistant Commissioner of Trade Marks rejected Hint, Inc's (Hint) opposition to registration of The Premium Liquor Co. Limited application ...

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

It remains uncertain whether trade marks over floor plans and store layouts would benefit businesses or consumers.

Can the Haka be trademarked?

Manuka honey has seen great success both domestically in New Zealand and as an export product. With this success, topical legal issues have arisen.

A brand owner has been forced to disclaim the words in its trade mark and restrict the scope of its trade mark application significantly in the New Zealand trade mark opposition, ...

The Madrid Protocol is a convenient and cost effective system that offers owner of the trademark the possibility to have their trademark protected in several countries (up to 130 countries*) by filing only one application and submitting a single set of fees.

This week is Te Reo Māori week in Aotearoa (New Zealand), a week that promotes the use of Māori language.

This UK case involving Interflora made some observations to inform the Google AdWords trade mark debate in New Zealand.

IPONZ rules against attempts to obtain trade mark rights in the haka Ka Mate, which is performed by the All Blacks team.

NZ trademark owners should prepare for changes and increased costs for owning and enforcing brand / trade mark rights.

The time taken to manage your trade mark portfolio is time well spent. This investment will ensure that your most valuable and strategically important brands are adequately protected. At the same time, it will highlight areas where ongoing trade mark spend is not justified.

This article will get you thinking about ownership of some of the most valuable property associated with your business.

The recent opening of a small American coffee shop in Los Feliz, Los Angeles has received international media attention.

This case is interesting as Ms Clarke neither invented nor commercialised the term Aunty Helen, which was a nickname over which she had no control or ownership.

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.

The article explains how to get the most out of your intellectual property strategies, even when budgets are tight.