On 30 December 2018, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Agreement will come into force. This means that some amendments to intellectual property laws set out in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Amendment Act 2018 will come into force the same day.

 Following the recent decision of the European Court of Justice in Societe des produits Nestle v Mondelez UK Holdings & Services [2018] EUECJ C-84/17P regarding the Kit-kat shape trade mark, we provide an overview, examples and leadings cases for the registrability of shape trade marks in New Zealand.

IPAustralia has released an exposure draft of the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Productivity Commission Response Part 2 and Other Measures) Bill 2018, which is intended to implement recommendations of the Productivity Commission's 2016 report regarding intellectual property, including abolishing the innovation patent.

 Three interlocutory decisions of the Commissioner of Patents have recently issued dealing with the level of detail required in pleadings during opposition proceedings under the Patents Act 1953.

 We are very pleased to announce that as of 29 March 2018, David Moore and David Nowak are now directors of Henry Hughes Intellectual Property.

We have previously reported that Australia’s  innovation patent was likely to be abolished. However, like the iconic Aboriginal tool, it seems the innovation patent is back and there is a potential for a similar type of patent to be introduced in New Zealand. 

With the commencement of the Smoke-free Environments Regulations 2017 (“the Regulations”) on 14 March 2018 New Zealand will have a scheme of "plain packaging" for tobacco products in line with that in place in Australia.  We will see a significant change in the labelling of tobacco products.

On 5 March 2018, the Patents Amendment Regulations 2018 issued. The regulations will correct some errors in the Patents Regulations (NZ) 2014 and come into force on 5 April 2018.

 We compare four key aspects of trade mark opposition practice between Australia and New Zealand