A recent Australian Federal Court case has confirmed the approach to assessing infringement of Australian registered designs.

 Since 1994, New Zealand has provided all patents with a non-extendible term of 20 years from the filing date. However, under the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, the New Zealand government agreed to provide for an extension of the term a patent in certain circumstances. The Trans-Pacific Partnership Amendment Bill is currently before the Select Committee and  the corresponding regulations have been made available for public submissions.

In 2011 the Australian and New Zealand Prime Ministers announced what was intended to be a new level of cooperation between IP Australia and the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. 

From 1 July 2016, new Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL) laws apply to food sold in retail stores in Australia. However, businesses will have time to adjust over a two-year transition period, meaning that food products packaged up until 1 July 2018 can be sold without the new labels.

These words can be an important marketing tool and can carry significant weight in New Zealand and beyond, particularly for some food products where a consumer may have concerns about the safety and quality of such products from a specific country of origin.

International Bureau (IB) upgrade of its Madrid Registry operation system is leading to significant delays in the IB processing applications.  

The importance of branding is nicely illustrated in the toy market. DORA THE EXPLORER or BRATZ - without the brand it is just another doll. Or is it? While the doll market may seem miles away from wine there are similarities that are relevant.

The Wine Australia Corporation Act 1980 (“the Act”) and its Regulations (“the Regulations”) sets out the process for protection of a foreign geographical indication (“GI”) in Australia by countries which have an agreement relating to trade in wine with Australia, which specifically includes the European Union (“EU”).

It is not uncommon for Australian and New Zealand wine producers to use their name or surname as a trade mark for their wine.