Importer moves to register Freeview

The Freeview consortium developing free-to-air digital TV is under attack from an outsider trying to trademark a logo bearing its name.

TVNZ tried to trademark the word Freeview in 2004 but abandoned the application last year after it was told the word could not be registered as a trademark.

But the Intellectual Property Office has accepted an application from independent set-top box importer Peter Escher to trademark a Freeview logo.

The office had earlier disallowed Escher's bid to trademark the word.

Freeview is the name of the group of broadcasters - including TVNZ and CanWest MediaWorks - developing next year's launch of free-to-air digital TV.

Escher's logo shows the word Freeview encircled and a satellite beaming down to a map of New Zealand. The application by Escher's business, SatLink NZ, was accepted late last month and will be published this month. If no objections are filed, the logo will be registered as a trademark several months later.

Simpson Grierson senior associate Sarah Chapman said the Freeview group may have rights to oppose Escher's application based on prior use. But if the logo was registered as a trademark, Escher would have rights over the logo and similar forms if the public were likely to be confused.

Chapman said earlier attempts to trademark the word were likely to have been rejected because it was a term that should be free for other traders to use.

But, by adding other elements to make it a logo, Escher could apply for a trademark under the device category, which would not give blanket protection over the use of the word Freeview.

Once digital free-to-air TV launches next year, viewers will need a set-top - expected to cost around $200 - to receive the transmission.

A Freeview accreditation programme excludes many existing suppliers of set-tops, including Escher, and means all the group's boxes will be interactive. Escher said he was one of several importers angry over planned restrictions and maintained some consumers would want a cheaper, non-interactive box.