The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand is currently trialling a new scheduling initiative for hearings between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2021. This will allow the IPONZ Hearings Office to schedule hearings for proceedings which can be heard at short notice.
During this trial period, parties to a proceeding will be given an option to be added to a shortlist once their case has become ready to be heard. Shortlisted cases may then be used as back-up fixtures in circumstances where the original fixture has fallen over, or a timeslot becomes available for other reasons (such as Assistant Commissioner availability).
The IPONZ Hearings Office will observe a minimum notice period of 20 working days when advising parties that their proceeding has been allocated a fixture date. Parties to proceedings on the shortlist will also be given accelerated deadlines to file and serve submissions.
The inclusion of a proceeding on the shortlist will not guarantee that it will receive an expedited fixture date. Proceedings that are on the shortlist will also retain their place in the queue on the general hearings list.