Trade marks

Trade marks can be registered in 45 classes of goods or services consistent with the internationally adopted Nice Classification System (11th edition).

A trade mark registration is valid for a term of 10 years from the date of application. Registration can then be renewed, in perpetuity, for successive 10 year periods. A trade mark can be removed from the register for non-use if it is not used for a continuous period of three years.

As the Madrid Protocol is in force in New Zealand, entities in Madrid Protocol countries can file international trade mark registrations designating New Zealand as a country to which trade mark protection would extend. New Zealanders can also file international registrations designating one or more overseas Madrid Protocol countries.