Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand
Encyclopedia
The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) is a New Zealand
government agency responsible for the granting and registration of intellectual property
rights, specifically patent
, trade mark, design
and plant variety
rights. It is part of the Ministry of Economic Development. According to its website, IPONZ "aims to ensure people realise the full economic potential of their intellectual property."
Over the period from July 2008 to February 2009, IPONZ received 18898 trade mark applications, 4894 patent applications, and 854 design applications.
You can choose to receive updates for the following topics:
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
government agency responsible for the granting and registration of intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
rights, specifically patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
, trade mark, design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
and plant variety
Variety (plant)
Plant variety is a legal term, following the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants Convention. Recognition of a cultivated plant as a "variety" in this particular sense provides its breeder with some legal protection, so-called plant breeders' rights, depending to some...
rights. It is part of the Ministry of Economic Development. According to its website, IPONZ "aims to ensure people realise the full economic potential of their intellectual property."
Activities
IPONZ has a long history, beginning with the establishment of the New Zealand Patent Office in 1870. It now administers the Patents Act 1953, the Trade Marks Act 2002, the Designs Act 1953 and the Plant Variety Rights Act 1987.Over the period from July 2008 to February 2009, IPONZ received 18898 trade mark applications, 4894 patent applications, and 854 design applications.
Online services
The IPONZ website promotes an array of online services available to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including:- IPONZ Database - search for patents, trade marks, designs, plant variety rights and Hearing decisions for free.
- IPONZ Renewals - applicant can renew their patent, trade mark or design online.
- Lodge Application - apply online for a search and preliminary advice for trade marks and apply to register a trade mark, patent or design online.
- Online Correspondence - submit and view your patent, trade mark and design correspondence online. Select from a range of document types including:
- a response to your examination report or objections raised in your compliance report,
- assignments, change of name or address requests,
- requests for a certificate of Commissioner,
- extension of time requests
- Online Journal - search the intellectual property journals.
IPONZ email updates
This service provides the ability to subscribe to selected topics of interest and receive updates accordingly.You can choose to receive updates for the following topics:
- Patents, Trade Marks and Designs Journal Publication
- Plant Variety Rights Journal Publication
- Decisions of the Commissioner
- Timely updates on Practice Notes and Legislation
- Timely updates on IPONZ Online System Changes including new enhancements
- Latest News from the office