About us

We help New Zealand and international businesses protect their intellectual property rights in New Zealand.

We examine, grant and register intellectual property rights under:

the Patents Act 2013,
the Trade Marks Act 2002,
the Designs Act 1953,
the Plant Variety Rights Act 1987, and
the Geographical Indications (Wines and Spirits) Registration Act 2006.

We also have a number of operational functions. We:

process and examine patent, trade mark, design, plant variety right and geographical indication applications,
implement international agreements,
conduct dispute hearings about intellectual property registrations/eligibility,
contribute to intellectual property rights policy development,
act as a receiving officer for the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO),
respond to requests for information,
provide assistance including information and training to customers, and
collect application volumes data.

IPONZ services during COVID-19

IPONZ’s online services continue to be available as normal. However, we recognise the unprecedented nature of current events and the impact that the response to COVID-19 is having on the community and businesses.

Please refer to the following updates on how IPONZ is supporting clients throughout this period:

IPONZ services during COVID-19 - updated 16 July 2020
Deadline extensions for patents responses due to COVID-19 – updated 16 July 2020
Hearings evidence guidelines and status of hearings by attendance under COVID-19 – updated 16 July 2020
IPONZ Plant Variety Rights services during COVID-19 – updated 12 April 2021

IPONZ fees review

Following a routine review of its fees in 2018 and 2019, IPONZ changed some of its patent and trade mark fees from 13 February 2020.

For more information on the proposals, feedback submissions, and processes behind this fee change, please visit our IPONZ fees review and consultation page.

Our quality policy

We are individually and collectively accountable to meet the requirements of our quality management system and continually improve its effectiveness in achieving the purpose of IPONZ, which is to deliver and foster high quality and robust Intellectual Property rights.

<img data-shortcode= Telarc certification icon. We are certified with the ISO 9001:2015 quality management system standard. This demonstrates our commitment to quality in all aspects of our work.

Our vision

We strive to be at the forefront globally in facilitating robust and timely intellectual property rights.

View our 2018/19 to 2020/21 Business Plan [PDF, 209 KB]

Organisation chart

IPONZ is a business unit of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), part of Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery group (formerly referred to as Market Services).

The Commissioner of Patents, Trade Marks, Designs and Plant Variety Rights is responsible for ensuring that all the duties, and functions of the Commissioner noted in the Patents, Trade Marks, Designs and Plant Variety Rights legislation, are fulfilled.

IPONZ consists of seven teams. Six of them report to the National Manager. The Stakeholder Engagement team reports to the General Manager Engagement and Experience.

View larger image [PDF, 58 KB]

MBIE information gathering

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) transparency statement describes the kind of information MBIE gathers to ensure it can effectively: