A world-first new tool is now available that you can use to identify in one click if a trade mark image, logo or word is unique or not.
Trade Mark Check is now available from The Intellectual Property Office of NZ (IPONZ) on its website www.iponz.govt.nz. Using a phone, tablet or laptop, you can quickly find out if a brand name, logo, or even a hand-drawn scrawl of a logo, is already on New Zealand’s trade mark register, or looks similar to one that is.
Within seconds the tool can lead customers to clear and straightforward results, and information about the next steps. It also has simple descriptions of essential intellectual property ideas, just when you need to see them.
“This can provide amazing opportunities and advantages, especially for smaller businesses or people who are starting out with an idea. With Trade Mark Check you can find out instantly if somebody else has already applied to register the trade mark, and potentially save thousands of dollars in branding costs,” said Rebecca James, IPONZ Trade Marks Manager.
IPONZ estimates there are approximately 10,000 new businesses each year that don’t register their intellectual property. Trade Mark Check stops the guessing. It lets you know, straight away, if there might be a problem in registering a trade mark for a name or logo for a business, service or product.
Trade Mark Check is the most recent initiative by IPONZ to encourage people who are new to intellectual property to get involved. IPONZ has been rated number one in the world for the last two years for intellectual property online services, and boasts one of the least expensive trade mark fees in the OECD.
“The good thing about Trade Mark Check is that anyone can use it – for free. IPONZ has launched it as a beta version and wants to know what everyone thinks of it. We will be taking this feedback on board, updating and improving the tool to make sure we’ve got the best possible product that anyone can use, and that best works for them."
So check out Trade Mark Check now at the IPONZ website here.
