What’s in a nickname? Ex Prime Minister Helen Clark successfully opposes applications to register AUNTY HELEN

Since her time as New Zealand Prime Minister from 1999-2008 Helen Clark has been referred to by many as ‘Aunty Helen’. Ms Clark has recently been successful in opposing the registration of AUNTY HELEN as a trade mark by a New Zealand individual, Mr James Benson.

The opposition by Helen Clark was successful on two grounds. First of all, it was held that although Ms Clark hadn’t used AUNTY HELEN as a trade mark, she was known among a significant part of the general public as ‘Aunty Helen’. Given this reputation and Mr Benson’s intended use of AUNTY HELEN as a trade mark, it was held that consumers were likely to be caused to wonder if Mr Benson’s products and services were approved, licensed or endorsed by Ms Clark when in fact they were not.

Ms Clark was also successful on the ground of bad faith. This was due to a number of factors including the original applications having covered services relating to politics, the fact that Mr Benson’s evidence confirmed that he knew that AUNTY HELEN was a nickname for Ms Clark and that he saw the adoption of this name as a trade mark as being a valuable business opportunity. It was held that filing trade mark applications for the exclusive right to use AUNTY HELEN fell short of the standards of a reasonable and experienced business person and that the applications were therefore filed in bad faith. The fact that Mr Benson had also filed and withdrawn an application to register JACINDARELLA also featured in the reasoning leading to the finding of bad faith.

This decision is subject to appeal but serves as a ‘heads-up’ to traders in New Zealand looking to register trade marks that use the names and nicknames of well-known figures, political or otherwise.