Television New Zealand has filed an opposition claim against Vodafone’s attempt to trademark the name “One NZ”.

In September last year, the telecommunications company revealed it wanted to change its name to One New Zealand to better reflect its legacy in Aotearoa, having separated from the global Vodafone group three years ago.

But a TVNZ spokesperson said its own TVNZ 1 and One News were reputable and valuable brands, and it was keen to protect them.

“Given these discussions are ongoing, we are simply exercising our rights until the parties reach a position they are comfortable with,” they said in a statement.

“We continue to partner with Vodafone commercially and on a range of projects.”

An initial three-month extension to the opposition period was filed in October but could not be renewed, and discussions had paused for the holiday break.

In a statement, Vodafone NZ corporate affairs head Conor Roberts said they expected TVNZ’s objection given the extension period could not be renewed.

They were “constructively working” with TVNZ on the matter, Roberts said.

“The remaining issues are minor and procedural and relate to various uses of the brand — rather than whether it can be used at all — and as such we believe they can be resolved,” he said.

Vodafone has up to two months to file a counterclaim or withdraw the application.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. 

Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk

Kim Dotcom: Caught in the Web is the new film by award-winning documentary maker Annie Goldson and Alex Behse.

Three years in the making, and part-funded by the New Zealand Film Commission, the film tracks the controversial story of Kim Dotcom, who Dr Goldson, a professor in media and communication at the University of Auckland, got to know throughout the process.

She talks to RNZ Sunday’s Wallace Chapman about making the documentary, the Kim Dotcom story, internet surveillance, independent film making in New Zealand and the polarised issues around corporate copyright and internet “piracy”.

Synopsis:
The larger-than-life story of Kim Dotcom, the “most wanted man online”, is extraordinary enough, but the battle between Dotcom and the US Government and entertainment industry, being fought in New Zealand, is one that goes to the heart of ownership, privacy and piracy in the digital age. Three years in the making, this independent film chronicles a spectacular moment in global online history, dubbed the “largest copyright case” ever and the truth about what happened.

Screening at next month’s NZ International Film Festival