Sarah Harrison

Special Counsel \ AJ Park Law Limited, Auckland

Sarah specialises in trade mark strategies, trade mark advice, and disputes on both the local and international stage, bringing a commercial focus that puts the business needs of her clients first.

Expertise

For more than 20 years, Sarah has advised local and international clients on trade mark infringement issues, prosecution strategies, branding strategies, evidence, and the enforcement of trade mark rights in New Zealand and around the world. Sarah offers her clients pragmatic advice, without the legalese, that is commercially sound.

Sarah’s clients cover a wide range of different industries, including: food and beverages (in particular honey, dairy, nutritional products, and wine), agri-businesses, FMCG, software, skincare products, building services, furniture, apparel, energy, retail, and wholesale services. Her experience includes the management of trade mark portfolios and disputes for some of New Zealand’s major multinationals, implementing trade mark strategies in more than 100 countries internationally, negotiating co-existence where necessary, due diligence, litigation strategies, trade mark licensing, and more.

Experience

Sarah’s career started in 2001 with one of New Zealand’s major commercial firms. From 2004 to 2012, she specialised in trade marks and commercial IP with AJ Park. Between 2012 and 2019, Sarah was 2IC in the Auckland trade mark practice of other New Zealand IP firms, bridging the gap between commercial, litigation and trade mark strategy for her clients and becoming Special Counsel in 2018. In 2019, Sarah joined Baldwins as a team leader in the Auckland trade marks group. Following the merger of Baldwins and AJ Park in October 2020, Sarah re-joined her former colleagues as a Senior Associate in the Auckland trade marks team.

Working style

Sarah enjoys working with her clients to achieve results that bring their intellectual property and business needs together.

Recent accolades

Sarah was selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in New Zealand in the field of IP law for 2023 and 2024. Sarah is also a ranked individual for prosecution and strategy in the World Trade Mark Review 1000 (2022, 2023).

Beyond work

Outside of work, Sarah enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, running, and exploring art galleries.

Services

Expertise

Qualifications

BA (History) (Hons), University of Otago (1998)
LLB, Victoria University of Wellington (2001)
LLM (Hons), University of Auckland (2014)
Barrister & Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand
Registered Trade Marks Attorney (Australia)

Sarah Harrison's news and insights

Article \ 7 Nov 2024

Trade mark audits in the US – no squatters allowed!

The United States (US) is one of the few countries in the world requiring trade mark owners periodically file declarations proving use of their trade mark in trade in the US, for the goods or services covered by their trade mark.

Failure to prove use results in the loss of registered rights. Why? The aim is to ensure the integrity of the US Federal Trade Marks Register – no trade mark squatters allowed!