Cookie maker claims NZ version of Apple's China copyright stoush

Friday 17th February 2012

Cookie Time is challenging a Chinese company ‘s attempt to register its brand in what it says is a New Zealand version of Apple’s battle to protect its iPad copyright in the world’s second-biggest economy.

The private-hold, Christchurch-based cookie maker, whose brands include Cookie Time, Bumper Bars and One Square Meal, has filed suit in China against Qingdao Chengze Trade Co, which it claims is using identical artwork to the Cookie Time logo.

“It is an exact replica of the corporate logo,” Lincoln Booth, general manager told BusinessDesk. “It will be a pretty fierce battle – so winning is everything.”

Chengze Trade’s application top register the brand blocks Cookie Time’s own attempts to secure its mark, as it has done in Australia, Canada, Japan, the US and Europe. Booth said the company has now been told it faces a two-year delay on hearing case and Apple’s struggle to ensure its iPad brand is safe in China has stoked Cookie Time’s concern.

“The iPad issue in China definitely raises major flags for us,” Booth said. “We’ve got some big growth plans and opportunities in play, and we will not tolerate other companies attempting to cash in our own brand equity or steal a march on us in offshore markets.”

It is unclear whether the Chinese company is seeking to use the logo or extract a payment from Cookie Time, Booth said. It has not yet been approached by the company.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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