Statement Of Preliminary Issues Released For AJ Park’s Application To Acquire Baldwins

The Commerce Commission has published a Statement of Preliminary Issues relating to an application from AJ Park IP Limited, in conjunction with AJ Park Law Limited (together, AJ Park), to acquire the assets of Baldwins Intellectual Property, Baldwin Holdings Limited, Baldwins Intellectual Property Limited and Baldwins Law Limited (Baldwins).

The statement outlines the key competition issues that the Commission considers important in deciding whether to grant clearance to the proposed acquisition.

The Commission invites interested parties to provide comment on the likely competitive effects of the proposed acquisition. Submissions can be sent by email to registrar@comcom.govt.nz with the reference AJ Park/Baldwins in the subject line. Any submissions should be received by close of business on 24 July 2020.

The Commission is currently scheduled to make a decision on the application by 17 August 2020. However, this date may be extended as the investigation progresses.

The Statement of Preliminary Issues and a public version of the application can be found on the Commission’s case register.

Background
AJ Park IP Limited is a subsidiary of the ASX listed IPH group of intellectual property (IP) professional services businesses. AJ Park IP Limited provides a range of IP-related services including the registration and maintenance of patents and trademarks. AJ Park Law Limited operates a New Zealand-based law firm business that specialises in IP commercial law and IP enforcement and litigation. Other IP services businesses in the IPH group include Spruson & Ferguson, Pizzeys, Griffith Hack, Shelston IP and Watermark.

Baldwins also provides a range of IP-related professional services including the registration and maintenance of patents and trademarks, and IP enforcement and litigation.

Both AJ Park and Baldwins have offices in Wellington and Auckland.

We will give clearance to a proposed merger if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

Further information explaining how the Commission assesses a merger application is available on our website.

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