ARC LEGAL

10/04/2024

And its happened! Well its happening - over the next few weeks (until 6th May), Rachel will be winding up any unfinished work at aRc as she has started at Duncan Cotterill.

Rachel has been looking for ways to scale the aRc Legal IP practice and Duncan Cotterill feels like the perfect place, not least because of the great alignments of our values:

 Authenticity – aRc's goal has been to always provide pragmatic, accessible advice rather than convoluted legal jargon to clients;
 Excellence – as a leader in the field of intellectual property law, Rachel has always endeavoured to stay at the top of her game and to operate the aRc practice to an equally high standard;
 Enterprising – one of Rachel's reasons for specialising in intellectual property is the innovative nature of her clients which matches her desire for creative legal solutions; and
 He tāngata - Rachel's driving goal is to make law accessible for every person, at a price they can afford and in a way that is simple to understand.

We're so excited by what the future will bring!

26/03/2024

Hello again, its another holiday season and we'll be closed from this Friday 29th March through to Monday 1st April along with many other businesses here in New Zealand.

We also have some exciting news to share. From 8th April our founder Rachel Triplow will be taking up a new role - the short version is that Rachel will still be providing trade mark and copyright services but just from a different firm (and she would love to continue to work with you).

The official comms haven't been finalised yet but the other main things to know are:

- we don't have capacity to accept new clients at the moment;
- if Rachel is currently working with you, she will be able to continue working with you after 8th April at the price agreed; and
- if we have sent a quote for services to you and haven't received your instructions by 5pm on 5th April then the quote will no longer be valid.

If you have any questions please fire them through to [email protected], otherwise we'll post again after 8th April with more information.

22/12/2023

Well that year flew by!

We're heading out of office until the 8th January. Despite our use of the snowman image below, down here in New Zealand its the summer holidays so we're going to take the chance to enjoy some sun in the Marlborough Sounds.

We hope you all have a great break too and thank you to all those with whom we have worked, shared ideas, or who have supported us over the course of the year.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and happy start to 2024.

01/08/2023

We've just sent out the first of our monthly newsletters, full of free resources, answers to the most frequent questions we've had over the past month, and recent cases & lessons learned.

Would you like to get a copy too? The link to subscribe is here: https:/arc.legal/subscribe

12/07/2023

Have you been meaning to look into registering your trade mark yourself? It may save you money, but there are some important points to note - so here is a wee video showing five top tips for getting it right. And of course if you'd like us to help you out, we've got our fixed fee BrandBooster option for $575 (+ GST) which will talk you through it while you do the legwork to keep the costs down - check it out here https://arc.legal/brandbooster

07/05/2023

The NZ Office of the Privacy Commissioner has launched “Privacy Week” starting today, as a “flagship educational event” with a series of free webinars via its website. There are a number of key sessions that should be watched by those operating online so you can make sure you’re up to date with your rights and obligations.

Check out their list of topics here: https://privacy.org.nz/news/forums-and-seminars/privacy-week/privacy-week-2023/

26/04/2023

26/04/2023

The 25th April (“Anzac Day”) is a special day in New Zealand and Australia. It was originally a day for remembering the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps soldiers who fought during the Gallipoli campaign in WWI, but today we remember all those who have served our countries in wars, conflicts and/or peacekeeping operations.

But is everyone allowed to use the word “Anzac”?

The answer is no – well not as part of their trade mark anyway. Use of the word has been prevented in New Zealand and Australia under each country’s legislation for over a century , but following an application to WIPO in 2003, member countries of the Paris Convention (i.e. most countries where you’d like to market your goods or services) aren’t allowed to use the word as part of their trade mark either.

If you’d like to double check whether other words or images you want to include as part of your name can be trade marks, check out WIPO’s search engine here: https://6ter.wipo.int/struct-search?lang=en. Alternatively:

• NZ lists all the words, flags and emblems it will not register here https://tinyurl.com/yyrs3zy9; and
• IP Australia has their list here: https://tinyurl.com/37h9etxj

A mistake can cost you dearly. For example in New Zealand, use of the wrong word or logo can lead to a fine of up to $50,000 and if the use continues there could be a fine of up to $5,000 for every day the offence has continued.

Above all though, lets ensure we treat words, flags and emblems with the respect they deserve. Thank you so much to all those who serve and have served around the world .

20/04/2023

We built a thing! If you know you need to think about your IP but don't have the budget... here are five ways you can protect your IP for zero $$

31/01/2023

School is back today! Although not for those in Auckland here in NZ so we're sending so much aroha to those who have got an unexpected extra juggle this week.

We hope everyone is managing to jump back into things with as much energy as Jake in this video. The squealing is optional :)

16/01/2023

Hello again!

I’ve taken a great break off the grid over the summer holidays in NZ with a lot of time outside relaxing, and thinking about new and improved things for the business. Part of this is reflecting on the amazing opportunities I had last year including:

- Presenting a paper on the top IP tips with Dan Chisholm for the New Zealand Law Society in February;
- Helping out at University of Canterbury with lectures for the Business School and mentoring start-ups in the UC Centre for Entrepreneurship at various times;
- Speaking to the Te Wānanga o Aotearoa business classes about the importance of IP in May and November;
- Mentoring and judging school student’s ideas through the Young Enterprise Scheme for the Young Enterprise Trust throughout the year; and
- Finishing up my six year term as trustee at Ministry of Awesome and celebrating their 10th anniversary with the amazing team there.

These opportunities have all fit perfectly with one of my core values: providing specialist, expert advice. Through the questions I’ve been asked and the businesses I’ve met at these events, I’ve also gained great insight into how to meet my other two core values: providing creative bespoke solutions, and helping people with flexible options to meet their various budgets.

The BrandBooster™ package we launched a year ago has been a great part of this in helping those with limited budgets to prepare and apply their own trade mark strategy for owning their brands.

The new BrandMapper™ service we’re currently testing out will meet an even earlier need for small businesses in helping them to DIY the relevant checks to choose a strong trade mark that avoids conflict before committing the time and money to launch it.

So watch this space 2023 😊
Rachel