4.1 Consent

Where a trade mark application contains a representation of an armorial bearing, flag, or other emblem, or the abbreviation or name, of an international intergovernmental organisation, the Examiner will raise a concern under section 29(1) of the Act and request the applicant to provide consent to the use of the emblem from the appropriate international organisation.

Where an applicant has obtained consent, the applicant must forward the consent document to IPONZ.

The consent document must:

• clearly identify the mark applied for, and include the representation of the material to which the consent relates;
• relate to the registration, not just use, of the mark applied for;
• clearly identify the goods and services;
• cover all of the goods and services applied for;
• be submitted on official letterhead or carry the seal of the international organisation giving the consent; and
• be an original document, or a certified copy thereof.

Upon receipt of a letter of consent, the Examiner must check that:

• the international organisation supplying the consent is the international organisation to which the armorial bearing, flag, or other emblem, or the abbreviation or name belongs; and
• the consent document includes all of the necessary information, as outlined above.
  

If the international organisation which owns the armorial bearing, flag, or other emblem, or the abbreviation or name, consents to the registration of the applicant’s mark, but in respect of a narrower specification of goods or services than that originally applied for, then the applicant must request a limitation of the specification, pursuant to section 37(1) of the Act, so that the specification includes only those goods or services for which consent has been given.