Auckland (The NZ Today)
New Zealand Rugby has taken legal action over the naming of the NRL’s new Papua New Guinea franchise, asking the High Court to stop the team from using “Chiefs” in New Zealand.
NZ Rugby says it has filed proceedings seeking both an interim and final injunction against the Australian Rugby League Commission, which has chosen PNG Chiefs as the name of the expansion side.
The dispute centres on trademark rights held by New Zealand Rugby and the existing Super Rugby franchise, the Chiefs.
NZ Rugby says it has owned trademark protection for the Chiefs name and logo since 1998, while the franchise’s logo is also protected in Australia.
The organisation argues that allowing another professional team called the Chiefs to operate in a closely related sport and overlapping commercial market could create confusion among supporters, sponsors and broadcasters.
NZ Rugby says it raised concerns with the ARLC after the Papua New Guinea team name was announced and spent about a year trying to reach a resolution.
With the new team’s official launch scheduled for 21 October, NZ Rugby says it has now moved to court after failing to secure a change.
Chief executive Steve Lancaster said the legal action was about protecting the existing Chiefs brand rather than opposing the growth of rugby league in Papua New Guinea or the wider Pacific.
Chiefs chief executive Simon Graafhuis said the name also carried cultural significance for the Super Rugby franchise and its supporters.
He said the concern was not simply that two teams in different sports shared the same name, but that rugby union and rugby league compete for many of the same fans and commercial opportunities in New Zealand and Australia.
NZ Rugby also pointed to an earlier finding from IP Australia, which it says identified a “real and tangible danger of confusion” when the Australian Rugby League Commission sought trademark protection for the PNG Chiefs name.
The High Court action now puts the branding of the NRL’s Papua New Guinea expansion team under legal pressure less than two weeks before its planned official launch.
Source: New Zealand Rugby information and 1News.
