TM Health Check

aRc’s TM Health Check is an essential part of running a business.

International TM Health Check - price will depend on countries searched

When launching or using a brand its crucial to check whether someone else is already using or has registered your mark, or one that is confusingly similar, already in the country / countries where you want to use the mark.

New Zealand / Australia TM Health Check - from NZ$750 (+ GST)

A TM Health Check in New Zealand or Australia includes:

• a check to see whether anyone else is already using the same or similar mark in New Zealand or Australia;

• a filing strategy to work out what mark(s) should be protected, and the relevant classes of goods / services; and

• an application for a “Search & Preliminary Advice” report (in New Zealand) or “TM Headstart” in Australia), to see whether your brand is confusingly similar to someone else’s on the TM Register and/or whether your mark is distinctive.

The government fees for filing the Search & Preliminary Advice (“S&PA”) application in New Zealand start at NZ$50, and the fees for an Australian TM Headstart application start at AU$200.

After filing we can transfer the handling of the file over to you if you would like to incur no further costs from us, or we can continue to help via our BrandMaster™ package. An overview of the whole trade mark process in New Zealand is below (the process is similar in Australia although the timeline is slightly different).