6 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>August</strong>/<strong>September</strong> <strong>2021</strong> Confidence takes a tumble in latest <strong>Waikato</strong> Rapid Sentiment Survey A recent survey conducted among 504 businesses in <strong>Waikato</strong> indicates business confidence has fallen sharply in the latest lockdown, with Net Confidence in the economy declining to -20 percent from +3% in March this year, but still better than the -31 percent during the <strong>August</strong> 2020 lockdown. Te Waka chair, Hamish Bell says: “The latest lockdown is delivering a huge reality check for many. But while the trend is backwards, confidence is not as low as it was during last year’s lockdowns, suggesting the economy is in a better place to handle the challenges thrown by Delta,” He added: “But we must remain cautious as things are moving fast and the impact of an extended lockdown period could be material.” Net confidence in the <strong>Waikato</strong> economy is more positive, but has also declined to -2 percent from +11 percent in March (-14% in <strong>August</strong> 2020). <strong>Business</strong>es are also less confident about their sectors, with net confidence at -9.6 percent (+11% in March). But when it comes to respondents’ own businesses, confidence is positive at +4 percent - but well off the +34 percent in March and better than the -17.5 percent in <strong>August</strong> 2020. Bell also noted: “The gap between sentiment towards the ‘general economy vs own business’ highlights the uncertainty but suggests businesses have some confidence in managing their own situation.” “Eighty six percent indicate a negative impact of the lockdown on their businesses, with less than half saying the impact is major. More than 11 percent are expecting a positive impact. 60 percent are making changes in response to the lockdown and 22 percent say those changes are major.” Bell added: “<strong>Waikato</strong> businesses have recovered strongly since the first lockdown, with growth bolstered by the Auckland-based businesses and workforce relocating to <strong>Waikato</strong> to take advantage of more affordable housing, better education and the lifestyle that the region offers. “That relocation shift is accelerating, offering a beacon of light for the <strong>Waikato</strong> economy.” When asked about the challenges facing business, companies are focused on staffing, supply chain and ongoing uncertainty; with smaller businesses emphasising loss of customers and cashflow. “Concerns around staffing and supply chain are palpable,” noted Bell, adding: “Despite significant growth, businesses are struggling to find staff; and supply chain constraints are causing major delays and massive cost increases, resulting in margin and cashflow pressures for business.” He added: “Small businesses could be hit the hardest by this lockdown. Without the buffer that bigger businesses can maintain, the management cashflow is likely to become a growing issue.” “Seventy eight percent of those surveyed indicated that they have or expect to apply for wage subsidies. “When asked about other support required, a third require support with business strategy, marketing and business continuity planning respectively. “Surprisingly, only 21 percent need help with HR – low given the tight labour market. A quarter require support with digital enablement - surprising given the lessons of 2020 – though this links well to the Government’s Digital Boost programme. Small businesses could be hit the hardest by this lockdown. Without the buffer that bigger businesses can maintain, the management cashflow is likely to become a growing issue. “Digitisation of businesses is accelerating and will be critical in lifting productivity,” added Bell. “<strong>Waikato</strong> is well placed to take advantage of the move towards online purchasing with the development of integrated distribution hubs at Ruakura and Tokoroa linking the Port of Tauranga and Auckland - attracting a myriad of manufacturers and distribution centres to <strong>Waikato</strong>.” The survey had responses from 504 businesses across a wide range of sectors. A third of those surveyed had revenues of 20 employees. Two thirds were located in the centre of the region (Hamilton, Waipā, <strong>Waikato</strong> District), a quarter were from the east (Thames Coromandel, Matamata-Piako, Hauraki); and the rest were from the Southern part of the region (Taupo, Ōtorohanga, South <strong>Waikato</strong>, Waitomo). Exporting to Aus… trade mark tricks and a copyright catch Are you thinking of exporting to Australia? Got your IP rights in order? Not yet? Well, don’t leave it too late because ‘she’ might not be right if you do. While Australia’s IP laws, rules and processes are for the most part identical or very similar to New Zealand, there are key differences which exporters should be aware of, and seek advice on, when planning the growth of their business. This article focuses on the areas of Australia IP law that I most commonly advise aspiring exporters on in my legal practice: trade marks and domain names, and design and copyright. Trade marks and domain names As in New Zealand, rights in trade marks (typically brand names and logos) in Australia INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUES > BY BEN CAIN Ben Cain is a Senior Associate at James & Wells and a Resolution Institute-accredited mediator. He can be contacted at 07 957 5660 (Hamilton), 07 928 4470 (Tauranga) and benc@jaws.co.nz. are acquired through use and/ or registration. Registered rights are best, as they give exporters rights across Australia as a whole – unlike usebased rights which are usually geographically limited in scope; that is, they are limited to the city/state in which you sell goods are sold. Registered rights in brand names are also best for two reasons: first, because your brand name will be protected regardless of how it appears in graphic form (including a logo); and, second, because, as I talk about shortly, they enable exporters to register a com.au domain name for their Australian business (if they want to register such a domain name). Some exporters may not be able to register their brand names as word marks because they descriptive or generic, in which case obtaining registration for a logo mark is better than no registration at all. Other exporters may not be able to register their brand names because someone else is already using or has registered an identical or similar trade mark in Australia. If you find yourself in that boat, you should investigate what your options are before making any decisions. Registered trade mark rights are particularly important in Australia if aspiring exporters are considering operating a designated Australia website under a com.au or net.au domain name. This is because to register a com.au or net.au domain name, there are certain eligibility criteria under the ‘.au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing’ (‘the Rules’) that must be met: • Firstly, the person applying to register a com.au or net. au domain name must be a commercial entity; • Secondly, the domain name applied for must be a match of, for example: the person’s company, business, statutory or personal name; an acronym of the person’s company, business, statutory or personal name; a match of the person’s Australian Trade Mark (noting that ‘Australian Trade Mark’ means either a pending trade mark application or a registered trade mark that appears on IP Australia’s trade mark database); or a match or synonym of the name of a service that the person provides or goods that the person sells (whether retail or wholesale). In practical terms, the simplest way for an aspiring exporter to be eligible to register a com. au or net.au domain name is to have filed (and had published on IP Australia’s database) a trade mark application for their company name or their service or product brand name. As the criteria above indicate, however, the desired domain name must be an exact match of the words which are the subject of the Australian Trade Mark application or registration (noting that the definition of ‘match’ in the Rules excludes commercial status identifiers like ‘Limited’, punctuation marks, articles such as ‘a’, ‘the’, ‘and’, ‘or’ and ‘of’, and the symbol ‘&’). Designs and copyright A fundamental difference between New Zealand and Australia IP law is the lack of copyright protection for ‘industrially applied’ product designs in Australia. In New Zealand, owners of CAD drawings used to manufacture physical products for sale or hire, for example, enjoy copyright protection for 16 years from the date the 51st product is manufactured from those drawings. Not so in Australia. In Australia, exporters of such products do not, except in certain limited circumstances, enjoy copyright protection in their CAD drawings. Exporters must either rely on registered design rights or consumer awareness of their product’s appearance in Australia to prevent or stop copying. Registered design rights protect the shape and configuration, pattern or ornamentation of or on physical article – in other words, the item’s appearance. Design rights do not protect how things work (which is the remit of patents), the materials used in products, the size of a product, or designs with no physical form, such as computer graphics. Registered design rights are preferrable to reliance on consumer awareness of a product’s appearance because they do not require public use of a product design in order for any rights in the design to be enforceable. Quite the opposite, in fact. To be registered in Australia, a design must be new and distinctive, where ‘distinctive’ means not identical or substantially similar to a design previously publicly used in Australia or published in a document in or outside Australia. Due to this requirement, if Australia features in an aspiring exporter’s plans it is crucial the exporter seek registered design protection as early as possible – potentially months if not years before any product is actually shipped to Australia. Finally, I note that this article is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice. If you are in need of advice, please contact your IP specialist.
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>August</strong>/<strong>September</strong> <strong>2021</strong> 7
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