The enhancements to the IPONZ case management facility effective as of 16 June 2016 are as follows:

Maintenance Due Date now searchable for Patents

You are now able to search 2013 Act Patent applications by their Maintenance Due Date.

New continued processing statuses for Trade Marks

Two new case statuses for Trade Marks are now available:

• Abandoned - continued processing available – applies to trade mark applications that are within two months of their abandonment date. This status will apply only once per application.
• Refused - continued processing available – applies to international trade mark applications that are within two months of their refusal date. This status will apply only once per application.

Selected amendment requests will be automatically validated if made on date of filing

The following amendment requests will now be automatically validated if they are made on the same filing date as their corresponding application:

• Amendment / Alteration requests for Design applications
• Amendment requests for Trade Mark applications
• Change of Classes requests for Trade Mark applications

Style changes aligned with the new IPONZ website

The new IPONZ website is now active. Although no major changes were made to the functionalities of the IPONZ online case management facility, we have made some changes to its appearance to align with the new website and improve navigation links between the two.