New Zealand Law Awards 2021
Zone Law is delighted to be recognised in the New Zealand Law Awards for 2021. The excellence awardees have been published on The Lawyer Mag’s Website here. This is the seventh consecutive year that Zone Law has been a finalist in these awards as New Zealand Intellectual Property Specialist Law Firm of the year.
Ethics; Navigating Potential Issues in Practice
On Friday 6 August, Zone Patent’s Managing Director Julie was a panel member for a session at the annual conference of the New Zealand Institute of Patent Attorneys entitled ‘Ethics; Navigating Potential Issues in Practice’.
One topic of discussion during the session, and one of interest for those in the IP profession in Australasia in recent years, was the purchase of a number of Australian and New Zealand IP firms by publicly listed companies such as IPH Limited and QANTM IP Limited. The advent of publicly listed companies buying IP firms, and the resulting merging of firms, has been the subject of considerable discussion in IP circles in New Zealand and Australia. However, its effects appear to be relatively unknown internationally and amongst clients of IP firms. We plan to comment on this in more detail in future editions of our newsletter.
Expanding Your Offering? Expand your Protection
There has no doubt been a lot of innovation in New Zealand over the last year. If you have been expanding your offering by releasing new products or services, or if you have branched out into a new field, it might be time for an IP Audit.
All trade marks must be registered in relation to specific goods or services, and the protection relates to those goods or services. That is why there can be different businesses operating under the same brand name such as Apple Computers and Apple Records. Often, businesses will simply register their trade marks for the goods and services they are currently providing.
However, because a trade mark registration lasts for 10 years, by the end of the decade, the business might find they are offering a new range of products or services, or a different service altogether which is no longer covered by the trade marks. For example, a computer company might start selling phones and offering a subscription service, a retailer might branch out into a line of “own brand” goods, or a confectionary company might branch out into ice creams and biscuits. These new offerings may not have been envisioned at the time of filing the application and so may not be protected.
We suggest your IP be assessed each time a new product or services is launched to make sure it is correctly protected, and IP Audits be undertaken at regular intervals to make sure nothing has slipped between the cracks. Zone can undertake an audit to make sure your protection covers the goods and services you need. Contact us today to find out more.
September and October Holiday Hours
IP Australia’s Office will be closed on Monday the 4th of October for Labour Day.
IPONZ will be closed on Monday the 25th of October for Labour Day.
Applications and documents submitted on these days will have the following working day as their filing date. If the deadline for filing an application or document falls on these days, then the application or document will be filed the following day in the respective country.
