This post is the first in a two-part series about aspects of trade mark law that are invisible to non-experts. These areas of the law are invisible because they have developed through case law – and sometimes pretty obscure case law – rather than being set out in the legislation. IN PRAISE OF CODIFICATION The good thing about statutes is that they are known, they are usually pretty clear...
The MBIE discussion paper on the IP Amendment Bill was issued recently. It is divided into four parts: patents, trade marks, designs, and use of AI by IPONZ. I’m doing a few posts highlighting what I see as the key issues. The discussion on patent reform is here. My picks for the top three trade mark issues are proprietorship, prior continuous use, and getting rid of the...
I promise that I am not just being obsequious when I say that I was extremely impressed by the Court of Appeal decision in International Consolidated Business Pty Ltd v S C Johnson & Son Inc [2019] NZCA 61, which was issued in March this year. It is great to see a tricky and important area of trade mark law heading in a sensible direction. The decision of the Court was delivered by Brown J...
