6.1 Notice of intention to reject

Where the Commissioner proposes to reject an application for the registration of a trade mark, section 176 of the Act requires that the Commissioner must first give the applicant an opportunity to be heard on the matter. The applicant will be sent a Notice of Intention to Reject advising that the Commissioner proposes to reject the application and the grounds on which the Commissioner proposes to reject the application.42

Under section 45 of the Act, the Commissioner must:

…if required to do so by an applicant, state in writing the grounds for the Commissioner’s decision and the materials used in arriving at the decision.

IPONZ practice, however, is that whenever the Commissioner rejects an application he will give full reasons for his decision and, where relevant, will indicate the materials used in arriving at the decision. The same practice applies where the Commissioner rejects the application in its current form, but indicates his willingness to accept the application if the applicant will agree to certain conditions. It is therefore unnecessary for applicants to ever make the request allowed for in section 45 of the Act.

The applicant will be given one month in which to request a hearing⁴³ from the date of the Notice before the Commissioner exercises his power to reject the application. The applicant will be advised that the application will be rejected at the end of that period if the applicant has not required a hearing.⁴⁴

Footnotes