Papua New Guinea NRL team faces trademark objections over Chiefs name

Papua New Guinea’s incoming National Rugby League franchise faces a trademark dispute over its proposed name, Chiefs, before the club’s planned brand launch on October 21. IP Australia, the government agency responsible for trademarks, has issued three adverse reports on the franchise’s applications. The agency has identified what it calls a real and tangible danger of confusion with New Zealand’s Super Rugby club, The Chiefs.

An adverse report identifies issues that must be addressed before a trademark can be accepted. If those issues are not resolved within the required period, the application can lapse. The New Zealand club has played Super Rugby for 30 years and won championships in 2012 and 2013.

Its chief executive, Simon Graafhuis, said the club’s reputation and commercial interests could be affected if the PNG team used the same name. Graafhuis said he hoped the two organisations could reach an agreement before the PNG launch. He warned that the PNG side could face restrictions on using its logo when playing the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland if the dispute continued.

Intellectual-property specialists Sarah Hook and Fady Aoun said the objections created legal and commercial risks. Hook said the name was not sufficiently distinctive, while Aoun described three adverse reports as unusual and said a later refusal could cause embarrassment. IP Australia also identified seven other businesses in Australia, Hong Kong and the United States that could potentially object.

New Zealand Rugby has separately written to the NRL saying Chiefs was not acceptable for the incoming team. The PNG franchise, backed by Coca-Cola and Bank South Pacific, is scheduled to enter the NRL in 2028 with support from a $600m Australian government funding package. Chief executive Lorna McPherson said the NRL was dealing with the trademark issue and that the October 21 launch remained planned.