Terms and Conditions

INTRODUCTION

This document is important. It gives you, as the client, a summary of your rights and responsibilities and requires you to formally accept and agree to them before your application proceeds further.

By ticking “I agree” to this agreement, you signify your acceptance of, and agreement to, these rights and responsibilities and the Terms of Use on this website.

These Terms of Use (Agreement) explain our obligations to you, and your obligations to us, for all goods and services and Services provided to you by or through us.

Please check this agreement periodically for changes as the owner of this website, Zone IP Limited (ZIPL), reserves the right to change this agreement and the Terms of Use on this website. The posting of any such changes on this website constitutes notice and acceptance of such changes.

Please note that Zone IP Limited is a New Zealand company which owns Trade Mark Zone.

AUTHORISATION

You hereby authorise and appoint ZIPL to act as your agent under the Trade Marks Act 1995 in respect of all matters and proceedings concerning this application you are submitting to ZIPL.

You request that all notices, requisitions and communications relating thereto be sent to Trade Mark Zone Australia, Level 26, 44 Market Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, AUSTRALIA. You revoke all previous authorisations, if any.

DEFINITIONS

In this Agreement:

“applicant”, “you” and “your” refer to the applicant in each application made to Zone IP Limited (ZIPL) and includes the applicant’s executors, administrators, successors and, where permitted, assigns;
“we”, “us” and “our” refer to ZIPL and its parent and associated companies, affiliates and partners and include their directors, employees, agents, licensees, invitees, contractors and all other persons under their control or direction;
“Services” refers to the trade mark services provided by us as offered through ZIPL, and its parent and associated companies, affiliates and partners;
“posting” means posting on the ZIPL website;
“person” shall include any individual, company, corporation, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, organisation, trust, estate, agency of state, municipal authority, government or statutory body, in each case whether or not having a separate legal identity;
the singular shall include the plural and vice versa;
one gender shall include the other genders;
reference to anything of a particular nature following upon a general statement shall not in any way limit the application of the general statement unless the context requires such limitation;
the section headings and clause headings shall not form part of this Agreement or affect its interpretation in any way;
any reference to any statute, regulation, rule, ordinance or bylaw shall be deemed to extend to all statutes, regulations, rules, ordinances or bylaws amending, consolidating or replacing the same.

OUR COMMITMENT OF SERVICE TO YOU

We aim to provide you with consistently reliable and good quality Services. We do not guarantee that the Services we provide will be perfect. When access to our Services is disrupted we will do our best to reinstate the Services as soon as we can.

Whenever possible, before starting substantive work, we will confirm by email. The Services we supply to you will be supplied to you in whatever way we think is appropriate. We can choose the carriers used to provide our Services and we can change the carriers at our sole discretion.

We agree not to charge any more for any Service than the price stated on the ZIPL website at the time you pay for that Service. Once you have paid for that Service, you will not be charged more if our fees then change for that Service.

OUR ROLE

The role of ZIPL is that of an agent under the Trade Marks Act 1995 acting for you at IP Australia (the Registry) and providing you with technical advice and assistance. The Registry is responsible for the Australian Trade Marks Register (the Register).

ZIPL provides technical, not legal, advice and assistance. ZIPL is not a law firm and the employees of ZIPL are not acting as your lawyer. ZIPL does not practise law and does not give legal advice. This website is not intended to create a lawyer-client relationship. By using ZIPL, no lawyer-client relationship will be created with ZIPL. This website is not a substitute for legal advice.

Furthermore, any legal information on this website is not legal advice and is not guaranteed to be correct, complete or up-to-date. Because the law changes rapidly, ZIPL cannot guarantee that all the information on this website is current. The law is different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and is also subject to interpretation by different courts and to application to different circumstances. No general information or Services of the kind ZIPL provides can fit every circumstance. Therefore, if you need legal advice for your specific problem, or if your specific problem is too complex to be addressed by our general information or Services, you should consult our associated law firm Zone Law Limited.

ZIPL will not appear before the Hearings Office, the Australian courts, or the courts of any other jurisdiction, on your behalf. For such legal matters, we recommend you consult a law. Recommendations for any such legal matters can be given upon request.

Unless we agree otherwise, our Services are provided to you as our client, and not to any other person.

YOUR GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

You acknowledge and agree that you will:

abide and be bound by the provisions of the Trade Marks Act 1995 and all regulations and rules made thereunder and by the Registry;
pay for all goods and services and Services provided to you by or through us;
pay any fees before we begin any work. We reserve the right not to begin any work without payment of the fees, even if the filing or other deadlines are due;
where we have come to alternative arrangements for payment, pay each tax invoice by the due date for payment set out in the tax invoice. If you do not, then we may charge you interest at a rate we specify and which is equivalent to our bank overdraft interest rate plus 5% per annum on the overdue amount from the due date until payment, and we may also recover from you all legal and related collection costs incurred by us arising from the collection of any amount which you owe to us and which you do not pay to us then due;
if you have a genuine dispute in relation to amounts we have charged you, pay the undisputed charges and notify us immediately you become aware of any disputed charges. If you do so, then you must give us full details of the reason you are disputing the charges and you must give us evidence of the grounds for the dispute. We will look into the dispute and you will comply with our good faith decision on the dispute;
ensure that all of the information you give us is correct and complete;
respond to inquiries by us addressed to the email address of the administrative, billing or technical contact appearing in your account with respect to a trade mark application or registration concerning the accuracy of contact details associated with the trade mark application or registration;
comply with any legal requirements concerning the use of our Services;
make sure everyone you are responsible for also meets these responsibilities.

You acknowledge and agree that all charges incurred from the opening of your account to the suspension or disconnection of your account will be met by you.

Where we have come to alternative arrangements for payment, we may at our sole discretion request a credit report from a third party which we may use for credit checking and reporting purposes.

Where we have an agreement for the Services to be paid for at a later date, we reserve the right to impose a credit limit on your account at any time. You agree that the credit limit imposed by us may be altered at our sole discretion with effect from the date we notify you of such alternation. You also agree that if at any time you exceed the credit limit we will be entitled to suspend the provision of our Services to you. All costs and expenses of or incurred by us as a result of any such suspension and recommencement shall be payable by you upon demand.

We reserve the right to refuse our Services to any person. Reasons for refusal may include, but are not limited to, conflict with a previous client, unfavourable credit rating, notification of bankruptcy, liquidation, business closure, criminal or unfair trading practices.

FEES

As consideration for the Services, you agree to pay to ZIPL the applicable fees up front before ZIPL provides the Services. All fees paid are non-refundable.

As further consideration for the Services, you agree to:

provide current, complete and accurate information about you as required by the trade mark application and registration process; and
maintain and update this information as needed to keep it current, complete and accurate.
You warrant that the information and all other statements in your application are true, current, complete, accurate and reliable. Both ZIPL and the Registry reserve the right to terminate your trade mark application or registration under the Trade Marks Act 1995 if:
information provided by you is false, inaccurate, incomplete, unreliable, misleading or otherwise secretive; or
you fail to maintain, update and keep your information true, current, complete, accurate and reliable.
You understand that by the term “fixed fee” we mean that ZIPL’s fees are fixed for the Services we have stated that we will carry out. However, the fees of the Registry are not fixed and you agree to abide and be bound by and to pay the fees charged by the Registry.

We reserve the right to change our fees at any time. The posting of any changes to our fees constitutes notice and acceptance of any and all such changes.

INFORMATION

As part of the trade mark application and registration process, you are required to provide us with certain information and to update us promptly as such information changes, such that our records are current, complete and accurate.

You are obliged to provide us with the following information:

your name and street address;
the trade mark being applied for or the trade mark application or registration number;
the name, postal address, e-mail address, and voice telephone numbers of the contact for the application.

You are also obliged to provide us with the following information when requested:

the goods or services being provided;
a translation or transliteration of any foreign words or characters in the trade mark;
convention priority details.

Any voluntary information we request is collected to ensure that we can continue to improve the goods or services offered to you and for you to track your application.

NO WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES

You acknowledge and agree that your use of the Services is solely at your own risk. You agree that the Services are provided on an “as is”, “as available” basis. We make no warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We make no warranty that the Services will meet your requirements or that the Services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error free. We make no warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the use of the Services or as to the accuracy or reliability of any information obtained through the Services or that defects in the Services will be corrected. You understand and agree that any material and/or data downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of the Services is done at your own risk in all respects and that you will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data that results from the download of such material and/or data.

We make no warranty regarding any goods or services obtained by you from or through us or through the Services or any transactions entered into through the Services. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by you from or through us or through the Services shall create any warranty whatsoever.

You acknowledge and agree that the acceptance or registration of your trade mark does not confer immunity from opposition, revocation, cancellation, invalidation, or alteration, of the mark by a third party or the Registry.

You acknowledge and agree that your trade mark registration may be subject to revocation, alteration, suspension, cancellation, or transfer pursuant to a Registry or government-adopted policy.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

You acknowledge and agree that our entire liability, and your exclusive remedy, with respect to any good or service or Service provided to you by or through us or any breach of this Agreement, is limited solely to the amount you paid for that good or service or Service.

In particular, without in any way limiting the application of the previous paragraph, you acknowledge and agree that ZIPL and its parent and associated companies, affiliates and partners and their directors, employees, agents, licensees, invitees, contractors, and all other persons under their control or direction, and the Registry, shall not be liable for any direct or indirect loss or damage of any kind arising from:

any failure to register your trade mark (whether through rejection or opposition or otherwise) or loss of registration or use of your trade mark (whether through declaration of invalidity, revocation, alteration, cancellation, or otherwise);
the registration or use or the inability to register or use any of the Services or for the cost of procurement of substitute services;
access delays or interruptions, data non-delivery or mis-delivery, Force Majeure, the unauthorized use or misuse of your User Name, Password or account, and errors, omissions, or mis-statements in any and all information or Services provided to you by or through us;
the expiry or termination of this Agreement.

Further, you acknowledge and agree:

if you receive goods or services or Services from us for business purposes, then the consumer warranty or guarantee legislation does not apply to this Agreement or any of our business dealings; and
the limitations of liability specified above apply under contractual privity.

FORCE MAJEURE

You acknowledge and agree that ZIPL and its parent and associated companies, affiliates and partners and their directors, employees, agents, licensees, invitees, contractors, and all other persons under their control or direction, and the Registry, shall not be liable for any direct or indirect loss or damage of any kind arising from any delay in delivery of any goods or services or Services or failure to perform our obligations under this Agreement where such delay is caused directly or indirectly by an Act of God, armed conflict, labour dispute, civil commotion, intervention of a government, inability to obtain labour, materials or manufacturing facilities, accidents, interruptions of, or delay in, transportation or any other cause beyond our control.

INDEMNITY

You agree to release, indemnify, and hold ZIPL and its parent and associated companies, affiliates and partners and their directors, employees, agents, licensees, invitees, contractors, and all other persons under their control or direction, and the Registry, harmless from all liabilities, claims and expenses, including lawyers’ and attorneys’ fees, of third parties arising out of or relating to the trade mark application, registration or use of the trade mark applied for or registered in your name including without limitation infringement by you or a third party with access to your User Name, Password or account.

When we are threatened with suit by a third party, we may seek written assurances from you concerning your obligation to indemnify us. Your failure to provide such assurances may result in us refusing to continue to act for you and in terminating this Agreement.

Your indemnification obligation to us will survive the termination or expiry of this Agreement.

REPRESENTATION OF OTHER CLIENTS

You acknowledge and agree that we represent you on the understanding that we will advise other clients in any other matters unless we have agreed otherwise in writing.

RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

We, in our sole discretion, reserve the right to deny, cancel, suspend, transfer or modify any trade mark application or registration to correct a mistake, protect the integrity and stability of ZIPL or the Registry, comply with any applicable laws, regulations, rules, or requirements, or avoid any liability or loss.

You acknowledge and agree that we shall not be liable to you for any loss or damage that may result from the exercise of any such right so reserved.

TRADE MARK DISPUTES

You acknowledge and agree that if the acceptance or registration of your trade mark is challenged by a third party, you will be subject to the provisions of the Trade Marks Act 1995.

You acknowledge and agree that in the event a trade mark dispute arises with any third party, you will indemnify and hold us harmless pursuant to this Agreement.

If ZIPL is notified that a complaint has been filed with a judicial or administrative body regarding your trade mark, ZIPL may, at its sole discretion stop acting for you.

INCONSISTENCIES WITH REGISTRY POLICIES

In the event that this Agreement is inconsistent with any term, condition, policy or procedure of the Registry, the term, condition, policy or procedure of the Registry shall prevail.

AGENCY

Should you intend to license use of the trade mark to a third party, you shall nonetheless be the trade mark holder of record and responsible for providing your own full contact information and for providing and updating accurate technical and administrative contact information adequate to facilitate timely resolution of any problems that arise in connection with the trade mark. You acknowledge and agree that you accept liability for harm caused by wrongful use of the trade mark and that you shall secure the agreement of any third party to this Agreement.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

We reserve the right to distribute information to you that is pertinent to the quality or operation of our Services and those of our associated companies, affiliates and partners. These announcements will be predominately informative in nature and may include notices describing changes, upgrades, new products or other information to add security or to enhance your identity on the Internet.

NON-WAIVER

Our failure to require performance by you of any provision of this Agreement shall not affect our right to require full performance at any time thereafter. The waiver by us of a breach of any provision of this Agreement shall not be taken or held to be a waiver of the provision itself. Any such breach by you shall not affect our rights under this Agreement nor be deemed to be excused because we did not act earlier in response to that, or any other, breach. If for any reason we delay in exercising or fail to exercise our rights under this Agreement that will not mean we have waived or given up such rights.

NOTICES

We will deliver our tax invoices and any other notices to the most recent email address you have given us in your account information. Any such invoice or notice shall be deemed to have been received by you one day after we have sent it. Please ensure that you inform us when you change your address.

In the case of e-mail, valid notice shall only be deemed to have been given to us when an electronic confirmation of delivery has been given by us to the sender. E-mail notification to ZIPL must be sent to admin@zoneip.co.nz

Postal notices to ZIPL shall be sent to:

Trade Mark Zone Australia

Level 26, 44 Market Street

Sydney

NSW 2000

AUSTRALIA

You acknowledge and agree that if you change your email address or move premises, you will inform us of this event in writing to enable us to ensure that there is no interruption in supply of our Services to you. If you do not inform us of this event, then we will not be able to ensure continued supply of our Services to you.

MINORS

You warrant that you are of legal age to enter into this Agreement.

ASSIGNMENT AND SUBCONTRACT

We may assign or transfer our rights and responsibilities under this Agreement to someone else. We will give you written notice in advance if we intend to do so.

We may also subcontract the performance of any of our obligations or responsibilities under this Agreement to someone else. We will give you written notice in advance if we intend to do so.

You may not assign or transfer any of your rights or responsibilities or obligations under this Agreement to anyone else without our prior written consent.

REASONABLE USAGE

ZIPL may monitor your usage of the Services at any time with regard to reasonable usage. If ZIPL deems your usage unreasonable, and/or it places a strain on ZIPL’s resources or services to its existing or prospective clients, then ZIPL reserves the right to negotiate with you usage terms and conditions outside ZIPL’s standard plan pricing, terms and conditions. If such terms and conditions cannot be negotiated, then we may terminate this Agreement without any refund and without notice to you and the Registry may terminate your trade mark application or registration as provided under the Trade Marks Act 1995.

TERM AND TERMINATION

This Agreement will remain in effect during the term of your application with us as selected, recorded and paid for at the time of the selection and submission of your application.

You acknowledge and agree that failure to comply with any provision of this Agreement will entitle us to terminate this Agreement immediately upon such breach without refund and without notice to you and the Registry to terminate your trade mark application or registration as provided under the Trade Marks Act 1995. The termination of this Agreement shall not release you from any outstanding obligations or responsibilities you owe to us.

On termination of this Agreement, we will cease providing goods and services and Services to you and all amounts which you owe to us will immediately become due and payable.

Where you wish to end this Agreement, please write to us at Level 26, 44 market Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, AUSTRALIA, or e-mail us atadmin@trademarkzone.com.au This Agreement will end and all charges will cease at the end of your current billing cycle provided you have paid us in full all outstanding amounts due to us.

GOVERNING LAW

This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws of New Zealand. Any action relating to this Agreement must be brought in New Zealand and you irrevocably consent to the jurisdiction of such courts.

TERMS SEPARATELY BINDING

If, for any reason, any provision of this Agreement is unenforceable, all other provisions of this Agreement remain binding and enforceable.

ENTIRE AGREEMENT

You acknowledge and agree that this Agreement and any posted changes to this Agreement are the complete and exclusive agreement between you and us for all goods and services and Services provided to you by or through us.

ACCEPTANCE OF AGREEMENT

You acknowledge and agree that you have read this Agreement and accept all its terms and conditions.

TRADE MARK

You acknowledge and agree that ZIPL cannot guarantee that you will obtain the trade mark you are applying for, even if we have given advice indicating that the mark is available or registrable, and that the final decision as to the registrability of the mark rests with the Registry.

You warrant that you are the trade mark owner or making the application on behalf of the owner and with the owner’s authority and consent.

You warrant that, to the best of your knowledge and belief, neither the application to the Registry, nor the registration of the trade mark with the Registry, nor the manner in which it is directly or indirectly to be used, infringes upon the legal rights of a third party.

You warrant that, to the best of your knowledge and belief, you are not applying for the trade mark in bad faith, you are using the mark or have a genuine intention to use the mark, and you shall not at any time use the mark for any unlawful purpose.

ZIPL will:

1. Prepare your trade mark application and classify your goods and services

2. File your application electronically with IP Australia

3. Where the Trade Mark Examiner issues an initial Compliance Report raising objections to the registration of the trade mark, receive and forward a copy of the Compliance Report

4. Where the application is accepted, forward notification of the acceptance

5. Monitor the application through the advertisement and opposition period

6. Where the trade mark is registered, check and forward the official Certificate of Registration electronically.

We will ensure you are kept informed of the status of your trade mark application during the process.

LEGAL MATTERS

You acknowledge and agree that this agreement and the response to the Registry do not include any legal matters that may arise out of the trade mark application process or registration. ZIPL will not appear before the Hearings Office, the Australian courts, or the courts of any other jurisdiction, on your behalf. For such legal matters, we recommend engaging our law firm Zone Law Limited.

Legal matters include but are not limited to:

Evidence of Use or Honest Concurrent Use

During the trade mark application process, objections by the Registry under the Trade Marks Act 1995 may be overcome with Evidence of Use or Prior or Honest Concurrent Use. These are legal documents in the form of statutory declarations.

Consent

During the trade mark application process, the Registry may cite another mark against your mark. You may apply directly to the owner of the cited mark to consent to your mark being registered. This may involve legal negotiations.

Rejection

Where the Registry decides that a trade mark is not registrable, the Registry may formally reject the mark. Rejection is the legal procedure that allows an applicant to take the matter before the Hearings Office where an independent Hearings Officer makes the final decision as to the registrability of the mark.

Opposition

Opposition is the legal procedure which allows people to try and stop the registration of a trade mark, once it has been accepted, by filing the appropriate documents with the Registry. Where a mark is accepted, if no oppositions are received, the mark will be registered.

Revocation for Non-Use

Revocation is the legal procedure which allows people to revoke your trade mark once it is registered if you have not used your mark for a continuous period of 3 or more years. It is your responsibility to ensure that you continue to use your mark while it is registered.

Declaration of Invalidity

An application for a Declaration of Invalidity is the legal procedure which allows people to challenge the registration of a trade mark by filing the appropriate documents with the Registry.

Hearings Office and Courts

Legal matters include any other matter that may involve appearing before the Hearings Office or the Australian courts.

PRIVACY AND DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

You acknowledge and agree that the terms of ZIPL’s Disclaimer and Copyright Statement and Privacy Statement form part of this Agreement.

DISCLAIMER

The information available on or through this website is intended to provide general information to the public. It is technical, not legal, advice. Your access to and use of this website is subject to the Terms of Use on this website. Each page on this website must be read in conjunction with those Terms of Use and this disclaimer.

ZIPL makes no warranty nor assumes any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, correctness, completeness or use of any information that is available on or through this website nor represents that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights.

ZIPL is not responsible for the content of other websites linked to or referenced from this website. We neither endorse the information, content, presentation or accuracy, nor make any warranty regarding, such other websites.

This website contains links to other resources and businesses on the Internet. Those links are provided as citations and aids to help you identify and locate other Internet resources that may be of interest to you. They are not intended to state or imply that ZIPL sponsors, is affiliated or associated with, or is legally authorized to use, any trade name, registered trade mark, logo, legal or official seal, or copyrighted symbol that may be reflected in those links.

ZIPL is not responsible for any loss, injury, claim, liability, or damage arising from use of or access to this website or any website linked to this website, whether from errors or omissions in the content of this website or any linked websites, from this website or any linked websites being down, or otherwise howsoever.

Access to and use of this website, and any websites linked to this website, are at your own risk in all respects.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

The design and content of this website and the information available on this website are protected by copyright.

The information available on this website may not be reproduced without further permission. Requests and enquiries concerning the reproduction of information on this website for any purpose should be directed to Trade Mark Zone Australia, Level 26, 44 Market Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, AUSTRALIA.

For convenience purposes only, this website provides links to other websites. Those websites may contain design, content and information that is the copyright of third parties and subject to restrictions on reuse. Permission to use copyrighted materials from other websites must be obtained from the copyright owner and cannot be obtained from ZIPL.