This post is the second in a two-part series highlighting areas of trade mark law that wouldn’t be easy to find out for the non-expert (Part I, which is about proprietorship, is here). In Man Truck & Bus AG v Shaanxi Heavy-Duty Automobile Co Ltd [2017] NZHC 2821 Woodhouse J held that the applicant in s 17(1)(a) oppositions involving specialist goods and services will fail automatically...
Two topics I have been thinking, speaking and writing a lot about this year are patent support and patent sufficiency. There are a number of reasons I have focused on these: First, they are difficult issues to get a handle on, and I wanted to really, properly get to grips with them. (Honestly, I think very few people do really understand these issues, and perhaps that is a reflection of the...
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...
It feels as though the last week has been pretty full-on, so it’s time for something lighter. If you are into AI, robotics, or sci-fi, then chances are you will already have come across Ian McEwan’s latest novel, Machines Like Me. If you haven’t, then perhaps that’s your next birthday/anniversary present sorted. (It’s a long wait if you want to order it from the library.) In lesser...
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...
The topic that everyone seems to be talking about, everywhere you turn, is access to justice. My conscience was pricked at a cocktail party talk last year by Dr Bridgette Toy-Cronin from the University of Otago’s Legal Issues Centre. She threw down the gauntlet to a room full of sleek civil litigators, challenging them to help a broader sweep of litigants, especially those of limited means...
I just went to a talk on tax, and it was uplifting. I mean, it was still a seminar, but in terms of fun factor I would rate it somewhere between listening to Mike Hosking (pretty bad) and Australian Lego Masters (oddly quite fun to watch with the kids). The speaker was Dr Tim Benbow, who is a partner at EY and is part of its R&D tax incentive team. And he did actually open his...
Interim injunctions involve not only legal principles, but also a more visceral appeal to the judge’s perception of what is fair and right. The judge needs to make the assessment quickly and on the basis of limited evidence. Yet the decision is incredibly important and will often put an end to the entire case – especially in the IP context. As a result, interim injunction...
The discussion paper on the IP Amendment Bill was issued recently and submissions are being received at the moment (details here).
I’m going to do a series of posts highlighting the key issues in each of the sections of the discussion paper, starting with patents.
Earlier this year, comedian Tim Batt registered a handful of “Coalition Party” domain names, shortly after the Destiny Church-brigade announced that it was starting a political party under that name. I thought it was such a New Zealand-style protest: gentle, non-confrontational, and kind of sweet. The best part, as you probably know, is that he uploaded an episode of The Male Gayz, a...