The IPOL wizard has been developed to help with the filing of trade mark applications. The IPOL wizard does not assist with the trade mark application process once the application has been filed.

Once you have completed the IPOL wizard you will receive an email from IPOL providing you with details of the application or applications that you have filed.

Once the application has been filed it will be examined by an examiner at the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ). IPONZ tries to examine all applications within 10 days of filing.

IPONZ will communicate directly by post with IPOL once the application has been filed. If the application is accepted the examiner will issue a Notice of Acceptance.  Any correspondence received by IPOL will be sent by email to the Contact person for the application.

If the examiner has an objection to the application a Report will issue. The Report will detail the examiners concerns and will give the applicant a chance to respond to those objections. The Report is not the end of the process and in many cases a well reasoned response will convince an examiner to withdraw the objection(s) and issue a Notice of Acceptance.

The Report will include one or more deadlines for response. IPOL is not responsible for monitoring any deadlines. Failure to respond to IPONZ within a specified deadline may result in the application falling abandoned.

If at any time you require assistance with a Report you can contact IPOL at help@ipol.co.nz.  IPOL will consider the issues raised in the Report.  If appropriate IPOL may offer to respond to the compliacnce report on your behalf.  There will be additional charges for this service which will depend on the nature of the objection and the amount of work involved.  In some cases IPOL may recommend that you discuss your application with a legal advisor at James & Wells Intellectual Property.

Once a Notice of Acceptance issues the application will automatically be advertised in the Patent Office Journal. The application will be open to opposition by any interested party for a period of three months from the date that the application is published. In the event that your application is opposed we strongly recommend that you seek legal advice from James & Wells Intellectual Property. IPOL is not responsible for assisting you with the opposition process.

Once the opposition period is over, assuming that no opposition has been filed, a Certificate of Registration will issue. The minimum timeframe between the date of filing and IPONZ issuing a Certificate of Registration is 6 months. This timeframe cannot be reduced. The Certificate of Registration signals the end of the trade mark application process.

If you receive notice of an Application for Revocation or an Application for Declaration of Invalidity IPOL recommends that you seek legal advice from James & Wells Intellectual Property. IPOL is not responsible for assisting you with either of these actions.