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Intellectual Property Articles
Expert articles and practical legal guides on intellectual property for new zealand businesses.
Do Authors In New Zealand Need To Register Copyright For A Book?
If you’re writing a book as part of your business (or even building a business around your book), it’s normal to wonder how you actually protect what you’ve created. Maybe you’re planning...
31 March 2026
Copyright Vs Trade Mark Protection For Logos In New Zealand
You’ve put time (and money) into your logo. It’s on your website, packaging, invoices, socials, uniforms - it’s how customers recognise you. So it’s a bit of a shock when you spot...
25 March 2026
Copyright Protection For Artists In New Zealand
If you’re an artist who also runs a business (whether that’s selling originals, taking commissions, licensing designs, or creating content online), copyright can be one of your most valuable business assets. And...
25 March 2026
Copyright Parody In New Zealand: What Creators Can And Can’t Do
If you run a small business that creates content (marketing videos, social posts, podcasts, merch, or even a meme-heavy email campaign), you’ve probably wondered where the legal line sits with parody. Parody...
25 March 2026
Copyright Notice In New Zealand: What To Include And Where To Put It
If you run a small business, chances are you’re creating content all the time - a website, product photos, blog posts, social media graphics, training materials, packaging copy, client reports, or even...
25 March 2026
Copyright Lawyers In New Zealand: Protecting Your IP, Content And Brand Assets
If you run a small business, chances are you’re creating value every day through your brand, your website, your marketing content, your designs, and the way you present your products or services....
24 March 2026
Copyright Cost In New Zealand: Protecting And Using Copyright In Business
If you run a small business, you’ve probably created (or paid someone to create) something valuable: a logo, website copy, product photos, a course, a menu, software, or marketing content. That’s where...
24 March 2026
Categories Of Intellectual Property Rights In New Zealand
If you’re building a small business, your “assets” aren’t just your stock, equipment, or cashflow. Often, the real value sits in the things you can’t physically touch: your brand name, logo, designs,...
15 March 2026
Can You Be Sued For Using Someone Else’s Photo Without Permission?
If you run a small business, it’s tempting to grab a great image you’ve seen online and use it for your website, Instagram, ads or packaging. But using someone else’s photo without...
12 March 2026
Can I Ignore PicRights? Image Copyright Claims In NZ
You’re busy running your business, keeping customers happy, and trying to get your marketing out the door. Then an email lands in your inbox claiming you’ve used a copyrighted image online and...
11 March 2026
Can A Newspaper Use Your Photo Without Permission In New Zealand?
You’ve finally got the perfect image for your business - maybe it’s a photo of your new premises, your team at an event, or a product shot that’s done the rounds on...
9 March 2026Are Pinterest Images Copyright Free In New Zealand?
If you run a small business, Pinterest can feel like a goldmine. It’s full of beautiful product shots, templates, infographics, recipes, mood boards, logos, packaging ideas and marketing inspiration. But there’s a...
4 March 2026What The ® Symbol Means For Your NZ Business (And When To Use It)
If you’ve ever seen a brand name followed by a small circle with an “R” inside it, you’ve seen the ® symbol (also called the registered trade mark symbol). It looks simple,...
26 February 2026
Copyright In New Zealand: Protecting Your Business Content And IP
If you run a business, you’re probably creating content every week without even realising it. Your website copy, product photos, social posts, training materials, proposal templates, graphics, videos, blog articles, software, and...
19 February 2026
Copyright In New Zealand: A Practical Guide
If you run a small business or you’re building a startup, chances are you’re creating things every day - website copy, social media content, product photos, course materials, software, proposals, branding assets,...
19 February 2026
How To Choose An IP Lawyer In Auckland
If you're building a business, your ideas, brand, content and product design can become some of your most valuable assets. But IP (intellectual property) is also one of the easiest areas to...
10 February 2026What Is A Trademark In New Zealand?
If you're building a brand in New Zealand, you've probably asked yourself what a trademark is, and whether you actually need one. It's a smart question. Your name, logo, slogan, or other...
9 February 2026
Fair Trading Act (s 9) And Passing Off: Protect Your Business From Deception
When you've put time (and money) into building your brand, the last thing you need is a competitor riding on your reputation. This is where passing off becomes a big deal for...
4 February 2026
How To Copyright A Logo In New Zealand
Your logo is often the first thing customers notice about your business. It's on your website, packaging, invoices, uniforms, social media - and ideally, it becomes the visual shortcut people associate with...
1 February 2026How To Register A Trade Mark In New Zealand
When you’re building a small business, your brand can become one of your most valuable assets. Your name, logo, tagline, packaging, and other distinctive branding cues customers recognise can take months (or...
27 January 2026
All Rights Reserved Meaning In New Zealand: What It Covers And When To Use It
If you run a small business, you’ve probably seen “all rights reserved” at the bottom of websites, on social media graphics, inside eBooks, or on product packaging. It looks official (and it...
26 January 2026
What “All Rights Reserved” Means In New Zealand Copyright
If you run a small business, chances are you’ve seen (or copied and pasted) the phrase “all rights reserved” onto a website footer, a brochure, a quote template, or a product label....
25 January 2026
How To Do An NZ Trademark Search Before You Apply
You’ve finally landed on a business name you love. It looks great on your logo, the domain might be available, and you can already picture it on your packaging. Before you spend...
23 January 2026
TM vs ®: How To Use Trademark Symbols On Your Logo In New Zealand
If you’ve spent time perfecting your brand, your logo and brand name probably feel like some of your most valuable business assets. Then you get to the part that trips up a...
20 January 2026Confidential Information In New Zealand: What It Is and How To Protect It
In a small business, your edge often comes down to what you know (and what only you know). It might be a customer list you’ve built over years, a supplier pricing arrangement,...
20 January 2026
How To Use The Copyright Symbol (©) In New Zealand
If you run a small business, your content is often one of your biggest assets. It might be your website copy, product photos, training manuals, social media graphics, online course videos, proposals,...
15 January 2026
What Is BIMI And Do New Zealand Businesses Need A Trade Mark To Use It?
Email trust has never mattered more for New Zealand small businesses. Inboxes are more crowded than ever, scams are increasingly sophisticated, and customers are cautious about who they open emails from and...
15 January 2026
Key Instagram Copyright Rules For New Zealand Businesses
As a business, avoiding Instagram can be challenging - after all, it might even be a core part of your operations. Whether Instagram is central to your business strategy or just one...
29 January 2025When Independent Contractors Create Work, Who Owns The Intellectual Property? (2026 Updated)
You’ve hired a designer to build your logo, a developer to create your app, or a marketing contractor to write your website copy. They deliver the files, you pay the invoice, and...
6 January 2025
How Do Royalties Work? (2026 Updated)
Royalties can be a great way to earn ongoing income from something you’ve created (or own), without having to do all the selling and distribution yourself. But once you get past the...
6 January 2025
Received A Trade Mark Adverse Report From the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand? Here Are Your Options (2026 Updated)
Putting time (and money) into your brand is exciting - until you receive a message from the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) saying your trade mark application has an “adverse...
6 January 2025
Is Cybersquatting Legal? (2026 Updated)
Buying a domain name can feel like grabbing a prime piece of digital real estate. But if the domain you’ve registered looks a lot like someone else’s brand (or you’ve registered it...
6 January 2025
Want To Protect Your Ideas Or Copyright? Here’s How An NDA Or Copyright Disclaimer Can Help. (2026 Updated)
You’ve finally got a great idea: a new product, a unique brand concept, a course, an app, or even just the “secret sauce” behind how you do things. Then the real question...
6 January 2025
Thinking About Registering An International Trade Mark? (2026 Updated)
If you’re building a brand in New Zealand, chances are you’re not thinking “local only”. Even if you start small, it’s normal to end up selling online, exporting, or getting enquiries from...
6 January 2025
What Are Plant Breeders’ Rights? (2026 Updated)
If you’ve spent months (or years) developing a new plant variety, it’s completely normal to wonder: how do I stop someone else from copying this and profiting from my work? That’s exactly...
6 January 2025
How Do You Protect Your Slogan Or Tagline From Your Competitor? (2026 Updated)
Your slogan (or tagline) can be one of the most valuable parts of your brand. It’s the line people remember, repeat, and search for when they’re ready to buy. That’s also why...
6 January 2025
Protecting Your IP With A Trade Mark (2026 Updated)
You’ve put real time (and money) into building your brand - the name, the logo, the packaging, the vibe, and the reputation that comes with it. The tricky part is that brand...
6 January 2025
A Guide To Protecting Your Trade Secrets In New Zealand (2026 Updated)
If you’ve put real time (and money) into building a business, chances are you’ve created something valuable that isn’t obvious from the outside - a process, a method, a pricing approach, a...
6 January 2025
Do I Need To Register Copyright In New Zealand? (2026 Updated)
If you’re creating content, building a brand, writing code, designing products, or even just posting regularly online, it’s completely normal to wonder: do you actually need to register copyright in New Zealand...
6 January 2025
Responding To An Adverse Report From the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (2026 Updated)
Getting an adverse report from the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) can feel like a hard stop - especially if you thought your trade mark (or other IP right) was...
6 January 2025
What Is The ™ Symbol? (2026 Updated)
If you’re building a brand in New Zealand, you’ve probably seen the ™ symbol next to a business name, product name, tagline, or logo. It can feel a bit mysterious at first:...
6 January 2025
Creating Content On Youtube? Watch Out For Copyright (2026 Updated)
YouTube is one of the best platforms for building a brand, marketing your business, and reaching customers without a huge upfront budget. But there’s a catch: copyright issues can turn a great...
6 January 2025
Register A Trade Mark In New Zealand (2026 Updated)
You can spend months building a brand people love - the name, the logo, the packaging, the vibe - and then find out someone else is using something confusingly similar. That’s a...
6 January 2025
Indigenous Knowledge And Intellectual Property Rights (2026 Updated)
Using Indigenous knowledge in a business can be powerful. It can also be legally (and culturally) complex. Whether you’re creating products inspired by mātauranga Māori, incorporating Indigenous words or symbols into your...
6 January 2025
What Is A Copyright Licence Agreement? (2026 Updated)
If you’ve created something original for your business (like a logo, website copy, training materials, photos, software, or even a catchy jingle), chances are you’ll need to let someone else use it...
6 January 2025
Fair Dealing & YouTube: A Guide To Copyright Exceptions (2026 Updated)
If you create content for YouTube (or you’re using YouTube to market your business), you’ve probably had that moment of doubt: “Can I use this clip?” “Is this fair dealing?” “Will Content...
6 January 2025
Playing Music In Your Content: How Can You Avoid Breaching Copyright? (2026 Updated)
Adding music to your Instagram Reel, YouTube video, podcast episode, online course or TikTok can instantly lift the mood and make your content feel more “professional”. But music is also one of...
6 January 2025
The Legal Side Of TikTok: Music, Copyright and Ownership (2026 Updated)
TikTok can be a powerful marketing channel, a creative outlet, and (for some creators) a serious revenue stream. But once your videos start getting traction, the legal questions tend to follow quickly...
6 January 2025
Legal Considerations For YouTube Content Creators (2026 Updated)
Building a YouTube channel can start as a hobby, but it doesn’t take long before you’re dealing with very real business (and legal) issues: brand deals, copyright claims, defamation complaints, privacy questions,...
6 January 2025
How Do I Protect My Intellectual Property? (2026 Updated)
You’ve put time (and probably a fair bit of money) into building your business - your name, your branding, your products, your content, and the way you do things. So it makes...
6 January 2025
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