A new development in New Zealand will provide an option for a faster route to judgment in patent and other intellectual property litigation. From 1 October 2025, a Commercial List will operate at the Auckland registry of the High Court of New Zealand in which cases will be case-managed and heard by appointed Commercial List judges. The stated aim of the Commercial List is to:
“achieve better efficiencies and quicker hearing times, based on the parties, counsel and commercially experienced Commercial List Judges working together to ensure matters are agreed wherever possible, and disputed interlocutory and substantive issues are dealt with in a focused and expeditious manner.”
The High Court of New Zealand has jurisdiction over first instance patent infringement and revocation actions (the latter concurrently with the Patent Office). It also hears appeals from Patent Office hearings. The Auckland registry is by far the busiest and most commonly used registry for commercial litigation in New Zealand, including IP matters. Currently, IP cases are all handled as general civil cases with no specialist Court or judges. Case management is typically handled by Associate Judges and not by the Judge who will hear the trial.
Case management and trial hearings in the new Commercial List will by specially appointed, experienced judges. One of the two judges initially appointed has particular experience in intellectual property matters.
Intellectual property cases will automatically be presumed to be suitable for placement on the Commercial List. A party may request placement, and that request will be ruled on by a Commercial List Judge. The parties will be expected to have considered mediation of their dispute before commencement of proceedings.
We are yet to see how the Commercial List will operate in practice, and to what degree it will achieve the aims stated above. However, it may provide a significantly faster route to resolution of patent litigation and other IP cases in New Zealand. Ask our New Zealand patent litigation experts for more details.
About Pearce IP
Pearce IP is a specialist firm offering intellectual property specialist lawyers and attorneys with a focus on the life sciences industries. Pearce IP and its leaders are ranked in every notable legal directory for legal, patent and trade mark excellence, including: Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, IAM Patent 1000, IAM Strategy 300, MIP IP Stars, Doyles Guide, WTR 1000, Best Lawyers, WIPR Leaders, 5 Star IP Lawyers, among others.
In 2025, Pearce IP was recognised by Australasian Lawyer and New Zealand Lawyer’s 5 Star Employer of Choice, and is the “Standout Winner” for inclusion and culture for firms with less than 100 employees. Pearce IP was awarded “IP Team of the Year” by Lawyers Weekly at the 2021 Australian Law Awards. Pearce IP is recognised by Managing IP as the only leading ANZ IP firm with a female founder, and is certified by WEConnect International as women owned.
Paul Johns
Executive, Lawyer (NZ, AU) & Trade Mark Attorney (NZ), (Head of Litigation – New Zealand)
Paul is Head of Pearce IP’s New Zealand litigation team and an IP dispute specialist with 24+ years’ experience in New Zealand and the UK. He is recognised in IAM Patent 1000, WTR1000, Chambers Asia-Pacific, and Best Lawyers. Paul serves on New Zealand’s Copyright Tribunal, is Vice Chair of the IBA’s Patent Law Subcommittee, and is a member of the Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand and NZ Intellectual Property Attorneys Inc.
Sally Paterson
Executive Lawyer (NZ), Patent & Trade Mark Attorney (AU, NZ)
Sally is a senior Trans-Tasman Patent and Trade Mark Attorney, and a New Zealand registered lawyer with over 20 years’ experience in IP. Sally’s particular expertise is in life sciences, drawing from her background in biological sciences.
Sally is well respected in the New Zealand IP community for her broad ranging skills in all aspects of intellectual property advice, protection and enforcement.
Sally has extensive experience securing registration for patents, designs and trade marks in New Zealand, Australia and internationally, providing strategic infringement, validity and enforceability opinions, acting in contentious disputes including matters before the courts of New Zealand and before IPONZ and IP Australia, and advising on copyright and consumer law matters.
Julie Ballance
Executive, Patent Attorney & Trade Mark Practitioner (AU, NZ), Lawyer & Notary (NZ)
Julie is a senior Trans-Tasman patent attorney, and a New Zealand registered lawyer and notary public with more than 30 years’ experience across a range of technology areas and a first class honours degree in chemistry. Julie is internationally renowned for her considerable patent/trade mark/designs/legal prowess, including being ranked in IAM Patent 1000.
Naomi Pearce
CEO, Executive Lawyer (AU, NZ), Patent Attorney (AU, NZ) & Trade Mark Attorney (AU)
Naomi is the founder of Pearce IP, and is one of Australia’s leading IP practitioners. Naomi is a market leading, strategic, commercially astute, patent lawyer, patent attorney and trade mark attorney, with over 25 years’ experience, and a background in molecular biology/biochemistry. Ranked in virtually every notable legal directory, highly regarded by peers and clients, with a background in molecular biology, Naomi is renown for her successful and elegant IP/legal strategies.
Among other awards, Naomi is ranked in Chambers, IAM Patent 1000, IAM Strategy 300, is a MIP “Patent Star”, and is recognised as a WIPR Leader for patents and trade marks. Naomi is the 2023 Lawyers Weekly “IP Partner of the Year”, the 2022 Lexology client choice award recipient for Life Sciences, the 2022 Asia Pacific Women in Business Law “Patent Lawyer of the Year” and the 2021 Lawyers Weekly Women in Law SME “Partner of the Year”. Naomi is the founder of Pearce IP, which commenced in 2017 and won 2021 “IP Team of the Year” at the Australian Law Awards.