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, and
• the Plant Variety Rights Act 1987.

We also have a number of operational functions. We:

• process and examine patent, trade mark, design and plant variety right applications,
• implement international agreements,
• conduct dispute hearings about intellectual property registrations/eligibility,
• maintain a register of patent attorneys and information about patent attorney registration and exams,
• 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.

We are certified with the ISO 9001:2015 quality management system standard. This demonstrates our commitment to quality in all aspects of our work.

Organisation chart

IPONZ is a business unit of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

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 six business units reporting to a single National Manager.

Click to view larger image.

Annual reports

As of the implementation of the Patents Act 2013, IPONZ no longer produces annual reports for presentation to the House of Representatives.

To request a digital copy of an IPONZ annual report between 1999 and 2014, please contact us .