NZ Rugby seeks a high court injunction against PNG club
The Papua New Guinea Chiefs are standing by their name despite court action taken by New Zealand Rugby.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has filed a High Court injunction application seeking to stop the NRL’s incoming 19th team from using the name used by New Zealand’s Super Rugby franchise, the Chiefs.
PNG Chiefs chief executive Lorna McPherson said the matter is being handled by the NRL’s legal team and the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC).
ARLC’s executive chairman Peter V’Landys has called NZR’s move “hypocrisy” and said that the NRL would “vigourously” defend the court action.
“Rugby union is obviously feeling threatened by rugby league in New Zealand, with sell-outs at most rugby league games.”
McPherson told PNG’s TVWAN on Thursday that the legal action would not stop the club from moving ahead with its launch plans.
The PNG Chiefs will launch their jersey this month and the ‘Chiefs’ name is expected to feature.
“The NRL legal department are dealing with it. So we are launching the identity and brand on 21 October as the PNG Chiefs. That’s as much as I can say on it,” she said.
Chiefs Super Rugby Pacific fan.
Photosport
Identity question
New Zealand’s Chiefs said they fully support the development of rugby league and other sports in the region, offering youth pathways to professional career paths.
But the club’s CEO Simon Graafhuis said protecting the identity they had built over the past 30 years was important for the club.
He said the Super Rugby Chiefs’ identity also carried significant cultural meaning and connection to the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions.
Graafhuis said NZR’s decision to seek a High Court injunction was not driven by opposition to rugby league or the Australian government-bakced development of the sport.
NZR is seeking both an interim and final injunction, which stops the use of the names “PNG Chiefs”, “Chiefs” or any other similar names in New Zealand.
The PNG team, which is set to join the NRL in 2028, is backed by a $600 million Australian government funding package.
“We’re still open to work with the NRL to find a solution,” Graafhuis told RNZ Pacific. “Otherwise we’ll have to go through the court process to enforce protection on the brands. But we’re still hoping to be able to work constructively with them.
“This is obviously not about league versus rugby because you know most most people out there are fans of both.
“They might have a preference, but if you’re a rugby fan, you probably follow league and a league team as well, and vice versa.
“And it’s certainly nothing about the new team in PNG. That’s an exciting opportunity to develop the game in the Pacific, and we know how important sport is for particularly our our kids and communities, to have have teams to follow and mentors to look up to.
“This is about protecting a brand that we’ve spent a lot of money on. That’s important to us.”
RNZ/Kim Baker Wilson
He said the Chiefs rugby team has been playing in Super Rugby since 1996.
“From what I understand, the brand was registered and trademarked and placed in pretty good protection in New Zealand since 1998,” he said.
“So, obviously, when we became aware of a another another team operating in a trans-Tasman competition, wanting to use the same name, we sort of have tried to work with or talk to the NRL, an Australian Rugby League Commission, to see if we can resolve it, but to date haven’t.”
He said NZR is carrying on the process and applying for an interim injunction around around the use of the ‘Chiefs’ brand in New Zealand.
He said having the two clubs playing by the same name was not an option they looked at.
“I think [for] the Chiefs Rugby Club, we’ve got pretty strong protection,” he said.
“There are pretty strict IP laws around this brand. It’s interesting that on the first two attempts, NRL failed to get approval to use the Chiefs brand and register it in Australia because of the existing protection that’s in place for the Chiefs.”
