Build a usable record of prior trade mark use

This service is commonly used by businesses that need to show they were using a name, logo or brand before another party's claim became an issue. That can happen during a trade mark objection, an opposition, a dispute over ownership, or when you are trying to work out how strong your position really is before taking the next step. It is especially useful where brand use has developed over time across websites, social media, packaging, invoices and customer communications, and the evidence needs to be organised into a coherent timeline rather than left as a loose collection of files.

The main issue is often not the absence of material, but whether the material clearly proves use of the mark, the date of that use, and the connection to the goods or services in question. Businesses may have screenshots with no reliable date, invoices that use a trading name inconsistently, or marketing assets that changed over time. Gaps between early use and later commercial activity can also matter. We help assess which documents are likely to be persuasive and how they fit together, rather than simply collecting everything available.

No. A template declaration or a short review may help in a simple matter, but prior use issues often turn on chronology, consistency and the quality of the supporting records. This service is broader than a quick check because we look at the evidence set as a whole, identify weaknesses, and prepare a more structured report that can support a filing or dispute strategy. If you only need a narrow review of one document, we can discuss whether a smaller scope is more suitable, but this page is aimed at fuller evidence support.

Timing depends largely on the volume and condition of your records. If your documents are already organised and the use history is straightforward, the work can move more quickly. If materials are spread across old folders, marketing systems and accounting records, extra time may be needed to sort out dates and relevance. Once we review what you have, we can give you a clearer estimate. In many matters, the next practical step is for you to gather the missing items we identify before the report is finalised.

That depends on why you needed the report in the first place. You may use it to support a trade mark filing position, respond to concerns raised by another party, or decide whether it is worth progressing a dispute. In some matters, the report also helps clarify where the evidence is still thin and whether more records should be gathered before taking action. Ongoing representation, filing work in a separate matter, and broader dispute strategy are not automatically included, but we can discuss those services if needed.

Just submit an enquiry via this page or click the 'get started' button on our website to submit an enquiry. After you've submitted an enquiry, one of our legal consultants will review your enquiry within 1 business day and get in touch to get a better idea of exactly what you are looking for.

Then your legal consultant will send through an email with a bit more information about the services you need, along with a fixed fee quote setting out costs, scope of the service and timing. Have a read through it, and if you're happy with the scope, you can accept and sign our engagement letter online - easy!

Once you've formally accepted, we'll connect you with a specialist lawyer and they will work with you to complete your project. They will contact you by email or phone if they need to get in touch.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Evidence Of Prior Use service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We operate completely online, which means we can help you wherever you are in New Zealand. We have office spaces in Sydney, and in Melbourne, but our use of technology allows our team members to work remotely from around the world. Our legal team are mostly based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. We also have a London office for Sprintlaw UK.

Our legal team is made up of experienced lawyers, who are specialists in various areas of law and hold an Australian legal practising certificate. None of our Sprintlaw lawyers are New Zealand qualified lawyers and they do not currently hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

They provide legal services working remotely from Australia via our 'legal consultancy' model, through which (under section 6 and section 35 of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006) our Australian legal team are permitted to provide legal services to New Zealand businesses provided they do not provide services in certain 'reserved' areas of law. You can read our FAQ page to learn a bit more about our 'legal consultancy' model.

Given the strong similarities between Australian and New Zealand law, and the areas of law in which we practice (being small business and startup law), we do not view the fact that our lawyers have not qualified in New Zealand as having any substantive impact on the quality of our service. We are committed to ensuring that we provide high quality, affordable legal services to all our New Zealand clients.

Our legal team have all trained at leading firms, but have left the traditional corporate law world to join us on our mission to create a new and better way of delivering legal services. They have specialist expertise in technology law, intellectual property law, contract drafting and review, corporate law and commercial law.