It’s coming up to New Zealand Fashion Week – the perfect time to strut your stuff, not just on the catwalk but in the world of intellectual property too.
If you’re a creative, legal protection might sound about as exciting as last season’s collection but trust us: a little legal savvy can make your brand and clothing designs the real stars of the show.
Here are five essential ways to protect your fashion business in Aotearoa, whether you’re building a brand, launching a new label or dreaming up the next iconic design:
| The steps | The whys |
| Trade mark searches | Before you use your brand name, pause to conduct a trademark search to ensure it is available for use and low risk. If someone else is already sporting a similar name or logo, you could end up infringing their rights – and nobody wants their launch overshadowed by controversy. |
| Register your brand and elements | Once you’ve found your perfect name, lock it down with trademark registration. Registration under the Trademarks Act 2002 is the gold standard for brand protection in New Zealand, giving you exclusivity in your mark for your goods and services and serving as a warning to would-be copycats. |
| Protect your designs | Fashion isn’t just about names – it’s about the look. You can register unique garment shapes, patterns or accessories as designs, giving you exclusive rights for up to 15 years. In addition, copyright arises automatically upon creation and protects original artistic works, such as prints and graphics. Seek legal advice for clarity about what is protected. |
| Use ®, ™ and © symbols | Show the world you mean business. Use the ® symbol for registered trademarks, the ™ symbol for unregistered marks and the © symbol for original artistic works if you own the copyright. These symbols don’t just look official; they also put competitors on notice and can be helpful tools in disputes. |
| Secure domain names and social media handles | Your online presence is as important as your physical one in this day and age. Register relevant domain names such as .nz and .com and secure your social media handles. While these are not intellectual property rights, they are crucial for brand protection. |
Why bother?
Safeguarding your brand and designs lets you pour your energy into creating and innovating, while putting you in the best position for protection from costly disputes and copycats down the track.
Protecting your designs using custom notices
When you file a Customs Notice with New Zealand Customs, you’re alerting Customs Officers to watch for goods that may infringe your intellectual property rights. If they spot items that match the Notice, they can seize and detain the goods at the border before they reach the market.
This isn’t just a theoretical solution. Some of the world’s most recognised fashion brands use Customs Notices to stop counterfeit shoes, fashion accessories and clothing from entering the market. For example, Levi Strauss and Oakley regularly rely on Customs Notices to protect their creative assets. So too do New Zealand brands such as Karen Walker who has worked with Customs authorities to keep imitations out of circulation.
If New Zealand Customs detains goods suspected of being counterfeit, you have several options. You might choose to take legal action against the importer, negotiate a settlement or even launch an investigation into the source of the fake goods. This process gives you greater control over protecting your intellectual assets and your reputation.
In New Zealand, Customs Notices last for five years and can also be renewed for successive five-year periods until the respective trademark registration or copyright expires, ensuring your intellectual property remains protected for as long as possible.
Customs Notices are a cost-effective and proactive way to safeguard your business’ creative assets and reputation and maintain customer trust. They send a clear message: your intellectual property is protected, and you take infringement seriously. In the competitive world of fashion, that’s a message worth sending.
This article is written by Sophie Thoreau, a leading expert in intellectual property law with more than 20 years of experience advising clients across New Zealand and internationally. Sophie has built a career helping businesses—from fashion labels to global enterprises—understand, protect, and leverage their creative assets. Her depth of expertise spans brand development, design protection, and complex IP disputes, making her uniquely placed to guide fashion creatives on safeguarding their work. With a passion for ensuring that intellectual property serves as a foundation for business growth, Sophie brings a practical, strategic lens to navigating the legal side of creativity.
