We have recently been notified of a systems issue affecting some international trade mark registrations designating New Zealand. For some New Zealand designations, the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) has incorrectly issued a notification to the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) advising that the New Zealand designation was refused when in fact it was not. In some cases, holders of New Zealand designations have been notified that their trade marks are both accepted and refused. This has caused a lot of confusion and uncertainty about applicable deadlines.
IPONZ has advised they have now located the cause of this issue, and has identified all New Zealand designation cases where a notification was sent in error. They are currently working with WIPO to reverse these incorrect notifications, and expect to provide a further update once this matter has been fully resolved. The current notifications on WIPO’s Madrid Monitor are not expected to impact the status of the New Zealand designation cases on the New Zealand trade marks register.
We will provide an update when we receive confirmation that the incorrect notifications have been corrected.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.
