The video opens on a title card showing the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand logo. This fades to another screen showing the words “How to search for a trade mark using Trade Mark Check”.

We see a man standing in an office space, wearing a hat and jacket. He talks directly to the camera “So, you've got an idea for a trade mark, but you're worried someone else might have thought of it already. Don't worry, it actually is really easy to check.”

The video cuts to footage of a woman sitting at a desk using a laptop, indicating she is checking information online, we hear the same man from before continue speaking in the background “Let's start with the trade marks register.”

The video moves to what is happening on the laptop screen, we see she us searching at the IPONZ website for their trade mark idea “energy drink milk”, and they scroll through the results. The man continues speaking “Basically, it's a public register where you can search for existing trade marks. Using Trade Mark Check, you can see if something similar to your idea is already protected in New Zealand.”

The video cuts back to showing the man speaking. “If it is, you may have to go back to the drawing board or obtain some professional advice on your next steps.”

The video cuts to footage of a group of people standing around a table in an office, in an informal meeting. The man continues speaking “You may still be able to protect your mark if your business isn't in the same industry as the existing mark's business.”

The video cuts to a beekeeper in protective suit tending to beehives, and then to an overhead shot of a fruit packing warehouse showing people working at conveyer belts and many boxes of produce – these images emphasise particular products that come from the production shown. The man continues speaking “Note that Trade Mark Check doesn't look at existing trade marks in other countries, so keep this in mind if you're considering exporting goods or services overseas.”

The video cuts to two women seated at a laptop, discussing options for their business, then back to the man speaking “Trade Mark Check was designed to guide you through a searching process, and the best news is it's freely available, and you don't even need an account to use it. So, how do you find it?

We see another woman sitting at a table using a laptop, then cuts to showing what’s on the laptop screen as they navigate the IPONZ website to Trade Mark Check “Just head to the IPONZ website. You’ll find big trade mark section on the homepage so you don’t have to go searching. Once you’ve made it to the Trade Mark Check, you’ll be given two search options:”

We see the start screen of Trade Mark Check showing the search options, and the titles of the two search options are emphasised on screen as the main continues speaking “word or slogan check, and logo or image check.”

We see the person using the computer search Trade Mark Check for the word or slogan “milk energy drink” and then scroll through their search results. The man continues speaking “The word or slogan check lets you enter words or a slogan between 3 and 50 characters, and run a search for you to see what else is out there that's similar to what you've typed.

We return to video of the man speaking, then cut back to the start screen of Trade Mark Check with the “Logo or image check” option emphasised “If it's a visual you are checking, the logo or image check is where you want to be.”

We see the user uploading a logo with the words “milkEnergy” and a stylised coloured milk bottle with wings. The man continues speaking “This is the one that lets you upload your image and then runs the search. The tool suggests features of your image to help you narrow down your search a bit further too.” We see that Trade Mark Check has detected the uploaded logo features wings and a bottle.

We see the man speaking to camera again, then back to the Trade Mark Check logo upload screen. They are skipping the image upload and moving to the next screen that allows you to specify features you want to include in your logo to see if there are similar logos that are already registered trade marks “Let's say you don't have your image ready to go. Just skip this step and pick a few key features.”

“You'll also be able to choose goods and services classes to get even more specific with your search, just click Select Good or service class, and you'll get a list of industry categories.” We see the user is viewing the list of goods and services classes to help narrow their search results. The user chooses “Class 29 – Meat, eggs, dairy and preserved fruit and vegetables”, and “Class 32 – Water, non-alcoholic drinks and beer (excludes milk)” then scroll through their updated results.

The man continues speaking “Generally speaking, the more results you find, the more popular your idea is, and the harder it will be to trade mark.”

We see the man speaking to camera again “The thing is you won't know for sure whether your trade mark will be accepted or not until a trade mark examiner has taken a look at it.”

We see a woman standing and a man sitting, both looking at images of their products on a computer, implying they are considering their products. The speaker continues “Maybe you want to reach out to a designer to take your idea to the next level.”

We see a the Trade Mark Check search results again as the user chooses to save a pdf of their top results. The man continues speaking “You can download a PDF of your search results to take with you to keep your trade mark unique.

We see the man speaking directly to camera again “If you don't have time, or you just want a hand with the process, the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand can do a check for you for a small fee.”

We see the IPONZ website on a computer screen, showing a page titled “Search and preliminary advice” as we hear the man continue speaking "Take a look at the Search and preliminary advice info on the IPONZ website for more details, and, happy trade mark searching!”

The image cuts to an end title screen showing the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand and Digital Boost logos. The text on screen lists the IPONZ contact phone numbers, “Freephone within New Zealand 0508 447 669, Freephone from Australia 1800 796 338, International callers +64 3 962 2607”. The man continues speaking “Still have questions? The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand is open between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM Monday to Friday.”

The text changes to show the website address of the contact us page on the IPONZ website with the words “For less urgent matters iponz.govt.nz/contact-us We’ll be in touch within 7 working days” and the man continues speaking “For less urgent matters, you can head to the Contact Us page on the IPONZ website. We should be in touch within seven working days. The Contact Us page also has a Common Query section, so be sure to check this out in case it addresses your question or concern.”

The video finishes by showing the logo of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and the logo of the New Zealand Government.

The video opens on a title card showing the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand logo. This fades to another screen showing the words “How to create a trade mark specification”.

We see a man standing in an office space, wearing a hat and jacket. He talks directly to the camera “It can be hard to know where to start with your trade mark specifications. Maybe you don't even know what that means. You won't be the first, and you definitely won't be the last. So, let's go over and see what you need to know.”

“All trade marks are registered for a list of goods and services. This is also known as a specification. ” We see close-up video of honey dripping from honeycomb, and words on screen describing the product type “Honey”, the goods and services class it falls in “Class 30 – Products derived from flours and grains; condiments and flavour enhancers; confectionary” and suggested terms that could be included in a specification, “honey, manuka honey, herbal honey, honey mustard, raw honey, natural honey”.  The man continues speaking in the background “So when you are crafting your trade mark specification, it's important to include a list of all the goods and services that you might be using your trade mark for.

We see the man speaking directly to camera again “Think about what goods or services you're providing to customers, and what your business is known for.” The video cuts to show a woman working sitting at a desk working at a laptop computer, and words on screen describing the service type “Consulting”, the goods and services class it falls in “Class 35 – Retail, advertising and business management” and suggested terms that could be included in a specification, “business consulting, marketing consulting, commercial consulting, advertising consulting, business management consulting, business research consulting”. We hear the man continue speaking “Your specification is a key part of your trade mark application as it ultimately defines the scope of protection if your trade mark application is successful.”

We return to seeing him speaking directly to camera “Similar goods and services are grouped into 45 classes. Goods are grouped in class 1 to 34, and services are classes from 35 to 45.” The class numbers appear on screen. We cut to show another woman working at a laptop computer “When it comes to writing your specification, there's help available.” We see the website for the Trade Mark Specification Builder on a laptop screen, as the user searches for “Energy drink” and scrolls through the results. The man continues speaking “Check out the TM specification builder on the IPONZ website. The builder allows you to research and create your specifications before you start an application. There are over 60,000 pre-approved goods and services terms, so the good news is that you can write your own, but you don't need to.”

We see a woman using a stand mixer in a professional kitchen and then a group of people in a cooking class as the man continues speaking “Say you own a business that manufactures materials for making and decorating cakes, that also runs workshops for how to bake cakes.”

We return to seeing the man speak directly to camera “You can search for any and all keywords that could cover your business. In this example, keywords could be cakes, decorations, food, workshops, utensils, anything along those lines.”

We see another woman sitting at a desk using a computer, then the website for TM specification builder on screen. They navigate through and search for the term “cake”. “Let's take a look at the builder. Click on search for terms. You'll be taken to a section where you can enter the terms we mentioned earlier. As you can see, cake gives all these suggested terms and tells us what class they're in. Class 30 is for products derived from flours and grains. So, if you're making cakes and putting your trade mark on the packaging, you would select this class. If you also make icing and other similar food products, you can select the relevant class for that as well.” The user selects the term “cakes”, and then “cake icing”. The terms are added to their short list on screen.

“To see all options in this class, click on show more. After you select terms, they are moved over to the right side. If you've selected a term but you've decided that actually doesn't fit your business, just remove it by clicking on the minus sign.” The user adds the term “cake stands” to their short list, and then removes the term from their short list. “Scroll down the results of your search and you'll see that class 21 includes kitchen utensils.”

We return to seeing the man speak directly to camera “As class 21 is also a goods class, you should think about whether you'll be selling kitchen utensils. If you're not making them and putting your brand on them, you probably don't need to protect kitchen utensils.” We return to viewing the user choose terms for their specification, they now have the matches for retail of kitchen utensils under class 35 on screen, and then expands the information to find out more about what’s included in class 35. “If you are selling kitchen utensils that other companies make, either through your workshop or storefront, you may want to select retail and wholesale services for kitchen utensils and containers in class 35 as a service you offer.”

We see him speaking directly to camera again, and then back to the search results for “cake” under class 3 “As you look further through the list of terms, some of these options will not be relevant to your business, such as class 3, which refers to cakes of soap and the likes.” We go back to seeing the man speak “Simply ignore the results unless they apply to your particular business.

We see a search on screen for the term “workshop”, showing matches in class 41, showing matches in class 41, then expanding the information about class 41. “You can repeat your search using other keywords like, workshop, which brings up class 41, conducting workshops, which in this case, you would select as a core part of your business. We've only searched for two terms in this example, but you will want to search for all your keywords to find all terms that may be relevant to your business.”

We see him speaking to camera again, then see a user searching the trade marks register at the IPONZ website, then clicking through to a registered trade mark and highlighting text from the trade mark’s specification as an example “If you need a bit of inspiration to see what classes could be relevant to your trade mark application, you could even search the IPONZ register to see what competitors have selected for their specifications to protect their trade mark under.”

We see alternately the man speaking to camera again, and a user navigating through saving their specification a preview of the .pdf file that is saved, and the buttons where users can upload a specification .xml file to the IPONZ case management system trade mark application form. “Now that you have your shortlist to the right, you can select next and save your specification, so you've got it ready to upload when you're submitting your trade mark application. Save a copy as a PDF file to share with your team or legal counsel. Save as an XML file to upload later for your trade mark application.”

We see the man speaking to camera again. “It's best to get advice from an intellectual property professional if you're not sure what terms to choose for your specification or if you want to write your own.” We see another woman sitting at a table using a laptop. “You can't generally make changes to your application after you've submitted it, so, think about it carefully before you apply.”

We see the man speaking to camera again, as the trade mark fees appear on screen. “Okay, let's talk cost. A trade mark application made using pre-approved terms is $70 per class plus GST.” We see the payment screen for a trade mark application with 3 classes. “In our example, we chose three classes, so that takes the total to $210 plus GST.”

We see the man speaking to camera again and then a user searching for sample terms in their specification. “When it comes time to make your application, it'll help to be familiar with the specification builder tool as a version of the builder is available on the application form, allowing you to either build your specification from scratch or upload one you've saved earlier as an XML file.”

The image cuts to an end title screen showing the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand and Digital Boost logos. The text on screen lists the IPONZ contact phone numbers, “Freephone within New Zealand 0508 447 669, Freephone from Australia 1800 796 338, International callers +64 3 962 2607”. The man continues speaking “Still have questions? The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand is open between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday.”

The text changes to show the website address of the contact us page on the IPONZ website with the words “For less urgent matters iponz.govt.nz/contact-us We’ll be in touch within 7 working days” and the man continues speaking “For less urgent matters you can head to the Contact Us page on the IPONZ website. We should be in touch within seven working days. The Contact Us page also has a common query section, so be sure to check this out in case it addresses your question or concern.”

The video finishes by showing the logo of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and the logo of the New Zealand Government.

The video opens on a title card showing the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand logo. This fades to another screen showing the words How to apply for a trade mark.

We see a man standing in an office space, wearing a hat and jacket. He talks directly to the camera “So you are ready to apply to register your trade mark. How exciting. It's an important step for your business. There's a few things to think about before you start filling out the application.”

We see the following questions also appear on screen as he announces them “Who's the owner of the trade mark? What are your goods and services you want to use your trade mark for? And what type of trade mark is it? Is it words, a picture, or a picture with words?”

We see a woman sitting at a computer and the website address iponz.govt.nz/about-ip/trade-marks/apply/ appear on screen “If you're not sure about these, see our other video on what to consider when applying for a trade mark, or check out the IPONZ website page, Apply for a Trade Mark. Once you've got those things sorted, you can get started.”

We see on screen the user navigates the IPONZ website, and logs in with RealMe®, and chooses option to apply for a trade mark. “Head to the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand's website and log in with your RealMe® username and password. In the menu on the left under Trade Marks, choose Apply for a Trade Mark.”

We see the man speaking to camera again, then the same woman using the computer, then the trade mark application from on screen as they start to fill it in. The sections Reference, Search and Preliminary Advice, and Identity are expanded on screen as they are discussed.

“We'll quickly go over what's in the application form so you know what to expect.

First, you'll need to enter a reference. This is just to help you tell your applications apart in case you have more than one on the go at a time. Enter something you'll recognise and remember, such as, My brand name trade mark.

If you want to base your application on a search and preliminary advice report you've previously requested from IPONZ, click the Search button in the Search and Preliminary Advice section. Otherwise, skip this step.

For identity, select In My Own Right if you are applying for a trade mark for your business or as an agent if you're applying for someone else.”

We see the man speaking to camera again, “This section must display at least one applicant and a case contact. The case contact will be one of the applicants or the agent, if there is one, but it must be someone with an address in New Zealand or Australia.” The words The mark must have an address in New Zealand or Australia appear on screen to highlight this requirement.

We see the user navigating the trade mark application form again. The sections Convention priority, Goods and services specification, and Series are expanded as they are discussed, and fields the user can choose are highlighted on screen as an illustration.

“If you have previously filed an application overseas for the same trade mark within the last 6 months, you can claim the earlier filing date of the application to use in New Zealand by selecting Add. Otherwise, skip this step.

Then search by keyword to create your goods and services specification. See our video on how to create a trade mark specification for more guidance on this.”

We see the man speaking to camera again and on screen are 2 logos, the first featuring white foreground and black background, and the second with the colours reversed. The logo features the word Dove in a stylised font and a stylised silhouette of a dove bird.

“If you have several versions of your trade mark that are pretty much identical, for example, a white image on a black background and the same image in black on a white background, you can add them to your application as a series. Otherwise, skip this step.”

We see the man speaking again, before showing the options in the Nature dropdown. “You'll probably want to leave the nature of the mark as Trade Mark. The other options are specialist trade marks.”

We see the man speaking again, before showing the options in the Mark type dropdown.

“Next, choose the type of trade mark you want. The most popular trade marks are for words, an image, or an image featuring words, which we call combined. If you are applying for a word or combined mark, enter the text that's in your trade mark in Mark Name.”

The user navigates to upload an image of their trade mark. “If you're applying for an image or combined mark, in the picture section, attach the image of your trade mark.”

The user navigates to the Additional application details field. “You can add any other information relating to your application here, but it is fine to leave this blank.”

We see the man speaking to camera again, before showing the transliteration and translation fields on the trade mark application form.

“The transliteration and translation field are only for word marks and combined marks that contain non-Latin characters like Korean, Chinese, and Arabic characters. Also, leave blank for image marks.

Enter the transliteration of the characters in the transliteration field and an English translation in the translation field. If your mark has no translation or meaning, state this in the translation field.”

We see the man speaking to camera again “You do not need to enter translation for words in languages that use Latin characters, such as French or Spanish. And we are near the end.”

We see the user completing the statement of use radio button at the end of the trade mark application form. “Confirm here that you are using or intend to use your trade mark you are applying for. If you don't do this now, well, you'll need to do so later.”

We see the man speaking to camera again, then a user downloading and viewing a report of their draft application in .pdf format. “If you need to check with someone else before submitting the application, you can download a PDF version to share with them first by clicking Get PDF Report.”

We see the man speaking to camera again, then the user submitting their application and viewing the payment screen. "You can also save the draft application and come back to it later.

Finally, choose Submit, and then you'll move on to paying for your trade mark application. From here, you just follow the instructions and click Process Payment when you're ready."

We see the man speaking to camera again. “Be sure to check your invoice details and email address are correct, as this is what will appear on your invoice and where confirmation of payment will go.

Click Process Payment to enter in your payment details and you're done. You should receive your application number by email, letting you know that your application has been received.

See our video for what happens after submitting an application to find out what's next for your trade mark application.”

The image cuts to an end title screen showing the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand and Digital Boost logos.
The text on screen lists the IPONZ contact phone numbers,
Freephone within New Zealand 0508 447 669,
Freephone from Australia 1800 796 338,
International callers +64 3 962 2607.

The man continues speaking “Still have questions? The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand is open between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM Monday to Friday.”

The text changes to show the website address of the contact us page on the IPONZ website with the words For less urgent matters iponz.govt.nz/contact-us We’ll be in touch within 7 working days

The man continues speaking “For less urgent matters, you can head to the Contact Us page on the IPONZ website. We should be in touch within 7 working days.

The Contact Us page also has a Common Query section, so be sure to check this out in case it addresses your question or concern.”

The video finishes by showing the logo of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and the logo of the New Zealand Government.

What happens after submitting my application?

The video opens on a title card showing the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand logo. This fades to another screen showing the words “What happens after submitting my trade mark application?”.

We see a man standing in an office space, wearing a hat and jacket. He talks directly to the camera. “So you've submitted your application for a trade mark. Now what?” The title “Examination” appears on screen as he continues speaking. “It’s time for an examiner to take a look. They’ll check your application and make sure it’s in line with the Trade Marks Act 2002 and the Trade Marks Regulations 2003. Basically, it needs to tick all the legal boxes.”

We see close up footage of some other peoples faces, and then the computer they’re both looking at where they are designing a communications device.  “The checks include making sure it doesn’t overlap with an existing trade mark, it’s distinctive for the goods or services you want to use it for, the owner is a legal entity, and that the trade mark is an offensive.”

The title “Time frames” appears on screen as he continues speaking. “Usually, you'll hear back within 15 working days, but it could be longer if your trade mark has Māori words or imagery. In that case, the Māori Trade Marks Advisory Committee will advise your examiner if your application could be considered offensive or contrary to Māori values.”

The title “Notice of Acceptance or Compliance report” appears on screen as he continues speaking. We see examples of both types of correspondence on screen. “After your application has been examined, you'll either get a notice of acceptance saying it meets the legal requirements or a compliance report that will include the reasons why your application has been declined.”

We see him speaking to camera again, then an example email notifying of a compliance report “If you get a compliance report, it will also explain the steps you can take to adjust your application, and how to get your application re-examined. For more info on this, check out our video on how to respond to a compliance report.”

We see him speaking to camera again. “If your response overcomes the objections, you'll actually get a notice of acceptance. Woo-hoo! If there's still an issue, you'll get another compliance report and another opportunity to respond. Unfortunately, sometimes your application may have issues that cannot be resolved, and your application will have to be withdrawn or rejected. Please note that acceptance isn't the same as registration. There's still a few steps to go.”

The title “Advertisement of acceptance” appears on screen as he continues speaking. We see the search interface for the IPONZ online Journal. “Once your application is accepted, it will be published by IPONZ in the journal and advertised for three months. This gives everyone an opportunity to oppose your trade mark should they feel it infringes on their own.”

We see him speaking to camera again. “We also need to wait for6 months to elapse from your date of application, just in case an application with an earlier priority date is received from another country. Don't stress! Oppositions and priority dates issues are unlikely, and the vast majority of accepted applications proceed to registration.”

The title “Registration” appears on screen as he continues speaking. We see a person using a laptop to view their trade mark certificate of registration. “So after all that's done, your trade mark will officially become registered. We'll send you a notice of registration, and you can access your certificate of registration through our website.”

The image cuts to an end title screen showing the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand and Digital Boost logos. The text on screen lists the IPONZ contact phone numbers, “Freephone within New Zealand 0508 447 669, Freephone from Australia 1800 796 338, International callers +64 3 962 2607”. The man continues speaking “Still have questions? The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand is open between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM Monday to Friday.”

The text changes to show the website address of the contact us page on the IPONZ website with the words “For less urgent matters iponz.govt.nz/contact-us We’ll be in touch within 7 working days” and the man continues speaking “For less urgent matters, you can head to the Contact Us page on the IPONZ's website. We should be in touch within seven working days. The Contact Us page also has a Common Query section. So be sure to check this out in case it addresses your question or concern.”

The video finishes by showing the logo of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and the logo of the New Zealand Government.