Kate Giddens | Special Counsel

Kate helps local and international clients to protect, enforce and defend their trade mark rights.

Expertise

Kate specialises in trade mark protection, management and enforcement, and provides strategic and commercially driven portfolio advice. She has particular expertise in the automotive, entertainment, food and beverage, sportswear and telecommunication industries.

Experience

Before joining Baldwins (now AJ Park), Kate worked at the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) as a senior trade mark examiner.

Kate majored in marketing while studying for her commerce degree and has always been drawn to the intangible aspects of brands and brand culture. Her skills and interests are ideal for work in intellectual property law.

Recent accolades

Kate’s recent industry accolades include being named in:

Managing IP's IP STARS for 2023 as a 'notable practitioner'.
The Legal 500’s Asia Pacific 2020 guide as a ‘rising star’.
The 2019, 2020 and 2021 editions of Managing IP's Rising Stars.
WTR 1000 2022 as a recommended individual.
2022, 2023 and 2024 Best Lawyers in New Zealand™.

Beyond work

Outside office hours, Kate can be found beside a BMX track cheering on her two children who race competitively, or stealing a quiet moment to enjoy a good coffee.

Services

Expertise

Qualifications

LLB, Victoria University of Wellington (2006)
BCom, Victoria University of Wellington (2006)
Admitted as a Barrister & Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand

Kate Giddens's insights

Article \ 19 Apr 2024

Dupes - keeping up with the trends

Keeping up with the latest trends is not for the faint of heart. It can also be expensive. Enter dupes. But is imitation a form of flattery, or a form of robbery?

Article \ 26 Mar 2024

Harmonising Australian trade marks with global standards: the shift to…

On the evening of 26 March 2024, IP Australia will replace its current list of goods and services for trade mark applications with the Madrid Goods and Services list.

Article \ 13 Feb 2024

Where is the IP in fashion?

In the fashion industry creatives are doing the same or similar things, making IP extremely valuable. Protecting the IP in collections and brands while they are new gives an advantage, provided there is something capable of protection.

Article \ 3 Nov 2022

The good applicants, the bad faith and the ugly assumptions

In trade mark matters before the Intellectual Property Office, bad faith is still a relatively ambiguous, “not possible to define” term. It is commonly phrased in IPONZ decisions as being behaviour that “fall[s] short of the standards of acceptable commercial behaviour overserved by reasonable and experienced [persons] in the particular area being examined,” however what constitutes bad faith is decided on the facts of each case.

Article \ 14 Jul 2022

Trade mark genericism in Australia and New Zealand

AJ Park expert Kate Giddens explains the key differences between the Australian and New Zealand tests for genericism, and provides some takeaways for brand owners.

Article \ 19 May 2022

The role of the Māori Trade Mark Advisory Committee and…

We now live, work, and play in a digital and global era. Due diligence is even more important when prosecuting trade marks with creators and businesses operating in a fast-paced world. One important consideration that is often lost amidst commercial evaluations is cultural sensitivity. In New Zealand, the Māori Trade Mark Advisory Committee (MTAC) plays an important role in this regard.

Article \ 1 Feb 2022

New Zealand’s trade mark trends of 2021, and what might…

Kate Giddens, Senior Associate at AJ Park and member of the IPONZ Trade mark Technical Focus Group, summarises the key trade mark trends seen in New Zealand in 2021, shaping the landscape for what 2022 might bring.

Client story \ 31 May 2019

Harley-Davidson - a brand with worldwide appeal

Harley-Davidson is one of the most successful and famous motorcycle brands in the world. In Australia and New Zealand, we administer Harley-Davidson’s brands and customs notices, in addition to actively enforcing the company’s intellectual property rights. We also works closely with customs officials to combat the importation of any counterfeit Harley-Davidson products.