Fight for advantage in trademark row

By FIONA ROTHERHAM

What advantage in a name?

This is the question facing listed technology company Advantage Group as it fights a trademark dispute with Advantage Computers in Palmerston North.

Advantage (Group) announced a tax-paid profit of $2.16 million for the six months ending December, on revenues of $28.9 million.

Included in the result was a $700,000 provision for the trademark dispute.

Chief executive Greg Cross was reluctant to give details on the dispute.

"Someone else is saying there is a lot of confusion over the use of the name."

Advantage Computers, an IT products and services provider, confirmed that it had registered proceedings against Advantage Group and two of its subsidiaries in the High Court at Auckland last November.

It claimed to be the registered proprietor since the mid-80s of the trademark Advantage for computer hardware, software and services. The Palmerston North business runs under the website www.advantage.co.nz while Advantage Group has www.advantagegroup.co.nz.

Advantage Computers chief executive Mark Ward said it was compelled to protect its intellectual property.

"As a result of Advantage Group's recent acquisitions and its focus change, Advantage Computers was seeing more and more confusion, which does not do us or Advantage Group Ltd any good."

Advantage Group was registered in August 1980 under the name Weightronic Systems (NZ) Ltd, changed to Weightronic Corporation in 1993, and then Advantage HDS Group in November 1994.

Advantage Computers was incorporated under its name in November 1986.

It has threatened to take action under trademark legislation against a number of other computer-related companies with Advantage names where it thinks there is direct overlap on its business.

Advantage Business Software Ltd in Tauranga wrote back saying any further approaches should be made by a solicitor.

It changed its name from Scope Software in 1995 because managing director Ian Simpson said no one knew what Scope was.

A Companies Office check revealed 43 companies starting with the word Advantage and a further 27 struck off.

The criterion for company registration is whether the name is identical or nearly identical to an existing one. You can have Flirtations Ltd and Fleurtations Ltd because the spelling is different.