doug

By Johnathan Chen The recent New Balance case should be a big wake up call for Kiwi companies exporting to Asian markets, especially those capitalising on e-commerce to do so. Selling online is a great idea as it gives companies ready access to untapped consumer markets – especially in China, where the emerging middle class’ demand for foreign goods is hard to service except by e-commerce platforms, and for those consumers that are in more remote areas of China. The reach of e-commerce is far and wide; at it is expanding at a rapid pace. But beware; the risks that come with it are significantly larger too. New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. the US sportswear and shoe giant, was recently ordered to pay $22m in damages for infringing a trade mark – the largest amount awarded in China’s Guangzhou Court history for a trade mark case. James & Wells Head of Asia Division, Johnathan Chen, says that with e-commerce growing incredibly fast in China it’s a very tempting avenue for Kiwi companies wanting to increase sales to take, but they need to be careful. “The New Balance example shows that Chinese courts really mean business and will take action against ‘blatant infringers’. It gave the benefit of the doubt to the original IP rights owner, even over a huge international company,” he says. In 2006 New Balance set up a Chinese subsidiary and marketed its products under the Chinese brand ‘Xinbailun’ (which references ‘New (Xin) Balance (Bailun)’). However, the brand ‘Bailun’ had already been registered in 1996 by a private businessman in relation to shoes, hats and other clothing. He subsequently registered a series of related marks, which included ‘Xinbailun’, and was granted trade mark rights in 2008. He then sued New Balance in 2011, who claimed they were innocent […]

Katalin Csikasz, TechPro Plus www.techproplus.co.nz In last month’s edition of NZ Manufacturer we touched on two projects where companies gained the competitive edge to become industry market leaders. The first project, which we detailed in last month’s publication, involved providing the industry with a reliable in-ground corrosion control solution which has subsequently become an industry specification; giving the company both recognition and a competitive edge. We also provided a model which could assist you to become a market leader, helping you stay ahead of the competition and/or implement your idea to benefit the industry. In this month’s edition we will provide more detail about how to become a market leader by outlining a project which positively impacted the New Zealand Telecommunication industry. This project is a great example of how using innovative, outside the box design thinking can minimise project complexity and reduce installation cost. Innovative design solution impacting the New Zealand Telecommunication Industry: In early 2000, as the Principal Engineer for TechPro Plus, I was onsite as a representative of a pole manufacturing company to observe the installation of both a 3m ground stub and the supplied telecommunication column. To complete the task the project required a hiab and traffic management for two days as well as a small concrete mixer, about 6 installers and a massive hole in the ground. This was a complex and challenging task that required the team to work hard to fight the rigid 100 outside diameter duct pipes through a tiny hole into the ground stub. The realisation that there must be a better way to do this was the moment when my innovative, sophisticated design of the “I” beam open section ground stub was born. Despite the 250% cost increase of the ground stub itself, due to its sophisticated details; the design […]

The Industry Training Federation is dismayed by advice from the PPTA’s Secondary Principals’ Council that schools consider limiting enrolments in Trades Academies to protect staffing grants. “Trades Academies are proving to be the motivating reason some young people stay in education and achieve qualifications,” says ITF Chief Executive Josh Williams. Trades Academy students remain enrolled in school, but spend part of their time gaining technical and employability skills through tertiary education providers and workplaces. Ministry of Education reports show that Trades Academies are having a positive impact on students’ staying in education and achieving qualifications. An adjustment to the funding calculation for Trades Academies has removed an element of double funding between the secondary and tertiary components of these programmes. “We appreciate that the funding picture for schools is complex, but this change should not be used as an excuse to disengage from collaborative programmes where resources are shared between schools and tertiary education organisations,” says Josh. “Our young people have a wide range of interests, aspirations, and learning needs. Secondary schools have a critical role to help students find their pathways to success, including those who would benefit from a blended programme of academic and technical learning. “A learner-centred system provides young people with choices about how and where they can learn, and delivers the skills students will need to succeed in their next steps. “The Secondary Principal Council’s advice is self-serving, and not in the best interests of students. Principals are right to not feel good about it” Josh says. The ITF is the collective voice for the industry training and apprenticeships sector in New Zealand