Select Country

Select a country to view information on local trademark law


Countries
A-E  F-J  K-O  P-T  U-Z

Multinational Agreements
EUIPO  WIPO
AIPO/OAPI  ARIPO
Enter Client Voucher:  info

Get Listed

Promote your expertise to IP professionals worldwide.
read more

Subscribe to Free Newsletter

To keep updated on the latest amendments to international trademark laws click here

Amendments to Trademark Laws

Print this page
Dez 05, 2019 (Newsletter Issue 17/19)
New Zealand
Show Country Survey

IP Legislation and Procedural Changes Soon


IPONZ informs that Royal Assent has been given to the Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment (No 2) Bill (“the Bill”) affecting Intellectual Property legislation.

The Bill amends a range of statutes, including the Trade Marks Act 2002, the Geographical Indications (Wine and Spirits) Registration Act 2006 and the Plant Variety Rights Act 1987. The amendments to these Acts will come into force on January 13, 2020. Most important changes are the following:

Impact on the Trade Marks Act 2002

The status “Expired but restorable” will be replaced by “Registered (past expiry date)” (Sections 59, 60 and 60A)
- The “grace period” to restore a trademark following its expiry will be reduced to 6 months.
- A trademark that has expired this way will remain on the register under the new status “Registered (past expiry date)”. This will enable the trademark to be treated as a ‘registered’ case for:
i. Allowing the trademark owner to perform actions to maintain the mark (e.g. assignment or cancellation).
ii. Allowing a third party to take action against the trademark (e.g. revocation for non-use).
- Some benefits relating to the enforcement of the trademark will not apply to “Registered (past expiry date)” trademarks.

Any marks that are in “Expired but restorable” status prior to the amendments coming into force will remain at that status and may be renewed using the current procedure.

Restriction on certification mark and standard trademark ownership in the same goods or services (Section 13A and 14):
A new Section 13A and an amended Section 14 of the Trade Marks Act 2002 will clarify that the owner of a certification mark may not register a standard trade mark in the same goods or services, or vice-versa.

Commissioner may require security for Hearings costs (Section 167):
Currently, security for Hearings costs can only be ordered if the party is based overseas. A new Section 167 will extend the powers of the Commissioner to order security if there is reason to believe that a party will be unable to pay costs.

Revocation of trade mark registration (Sections 65, 66 and 68):
Minor amendments will be made to Section 66 to clarify that there is no discretion to maintain a mark’s registration when the grounds for revocation have been made out, and there are no special circumstances.

Declarations on behalf of certain persons (Section 191):
Section 191 of the Trade Marks Act 2002 will be repealed, as this is already covered by other statutes.

Impact on the Geographical Indications (Wine and Spirits) Registration Act 2006

The new “Registered (past expiry date)” status will replace the original “Expired but restorable” status for renewal procedures under the Geographical Indications (GI) Act.
No geographical indications are due to be renewed until 2022, so this change is expected to have minimal impact.

Impact on the Plant Variety Rights Act 1987

Applicants and owners may provide an address for service in either New Zealand or Australia.

For further information, please check here

Source: www.iponz.govt.nz