Trends in Protection on the Edge of the World: News From the Land of the Long White Cloud

With a population of just 4.3 million and a remote geographic location, New Zealand (NZ) may often get overlooked when considering a patent or trademark filing strategy.  But did you know that New Zealand is one of the easiest countries in which to do business, and the easiest place in the world to start a business, according to The World Bank (Doing Business report)?  New Zealand was the first to launch an online company registration system back in 1996 and it’s been mandatory since 1998.  Our labor market is flexible and deregulated, with a highly educated and multi-skilled workforce, we have sophisticated telecommunications links and excellent export networks.  We also have low-expense and low-bureaucracy patent and trademark systems compared to those in place elsewhere in the world and the low NZ dollar makes filing for IP protection here even more favorable.

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