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Trade Marks Act 2002

Legal proceedings - Civil proceedings for infringement - Acts not amounting to infringement

94: No infringement for comparative advertising of registered trade mark

You could also call this:

"It's okay to mention other brands in your ads to compare them with yours, as long as you're fair"

You can use someone else's registered trade mark in comparative advertising. This means you can compare your product or service to theirs in your ads. However, you must be honest and fair when you do this. If you use their trade mark in a way that takes unfair advantage of it or hurts its reputation without a good reason, it might be considered infringement. This rule helps to balance fair competition with protecting trade marks.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM164686.

Topics:
Business > Intellectual propertyBusiness > Fair trading
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93: No infringement where more than 1 identical or similar registered trade marks used, or

"Using a registered trade mark is okay, even if it looks like another registered one"

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95: No infringement for honest practices, or

"Using trade marks honestly for business is allowed"

Part 4Legal proceedings
Civil proceedings for infringement: Acts not amounting to infringement

94No infringement for comparative advertising of registered trade mark

  1. A registered trade mark is not infringed by the use of the registered trade mark for the purposes of comparative advertising, but any such use otherwise than in accordance with honest practices in industrial or commercial matters must be treated as infringing the registered trade mark if the use, without due cause, takes unfair advantage of, or is detrimental to, the distinctive character or the repute of the trade mark.