Election slogans and trade marks: why New Zealand political parties rarely register their campaign catchphrases

With New Zealand’s general election fast approaching in November, it’s hard to miss the flood of campaign slogans appearing on billboards, social media feeds, television advertisements, and flyers.

A good political slogan captures a party's values and vision in a few memorable words. It can inspire supporters, communicate priorities, and help voters remember a party's message. Yet despite their prominence during an election campaign, political slogans are rarely registered as trade marks in New Zealand.

This is not an oversight. In most cases, it is a deliberate and legally sensible decision.

The 2026 election slogans
Most of the slogans for the 2026 election focus on economic management, the cost of living and a pitch for the future. The slogans for the main parties are:

National: “Fixing the Basics, Building the Future”

Labour: “Better Starts Now”

Greens: “For All of Us”

ACT: “Making New Zealand Affordable Again”

New Zealand First: “New Zealanders First”

Te Pāti Māori: “Candidate Vote Te Pāti Māori”

Opportunity: “Expect Better”

The one thing each of these have in common is that they have not been registered with the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ). The reason lies in the unique nature of political messaging and the limits of trade mark law.

The legal hurdle is distinctiveness
Under section 18 of the Trade Marks Act 2002, a trade mark must be capable of distinguishing one trader's goods or services from those of another. Political slogans are typically designed to persuade, inspire, or communicate an aspiration. They are not usually intended to function as indicators of trade origin.

Phrases such as "Moving Forward", "Putting People First", or "Managing the Economy" describe objectives or political promises rather than identifying a particular source of goods or services. They rely heavily on laudatory, descriptive, or generic phrases.

As a result, many political slogans would struggle to satisfy the distinctiveness requirements necessary for registration.

It is possible for a slogan to become registrable through acquired distinctiveness. However, this generally requires substantial use over a significant period of time (generally a minimum of a few years), such that the public comes to recognise the phrase as identifying a single source. Given that most election slogans are created for a specific campaign and often disappear soon after election day, establishing acquired distinctiveness can be difficult.

The commercial and political divide
There is a fundamental difference between commercial branding and political campaigning.

The purpose of a trade mark is to reduce consumer confusion in the marketplace by identifying the source of goods or services. Political parties, by contrast, exist to advocate policies, represent constituents, and contest elections.

While political parties could potentially seek registration for slogans in classes such as class 35 (for public relations and marketing) or class 41 (for education and organising events), a registration would only provide protection in relation to those specified services. It would not grant a blanket monopoly over the use of similar language in political debate, media commentary, or election campaigning.

A short lifecycle
Unlike commercial taglines, political slogans generally have a very short lifespan.

Nike's famous "Just Do It" slogan has been used for decades and represents a long-term investment in brand value. Political parties, on the other hand, frequently refresh their messaging to reflect changing voter concerns, economic conditions, and campaign strategies.

By the time a trade mark application has been examined and progressed through the registration process (on average 6-12 months), the slogan may already be approaching the end of its usefulness.

For most parties, the cost and effort involved in securing a trade mark registration simply outweigh the potential benefits.

Electoral law offers better protection
Perhaps the strongest reason political parties do not rely on trade mark registrations is that they already have access to a more suitable protection regime.

Under the Electoral Act 1993, political parties seeking to contest the party vote must register their names, abbreviations, and logos with the Electoral Commission. The Commission will refuse registration where the proposed name or logo is likely to mislead voters, cause confusion, be offensive, or infringe another person's intellectual property rights. It generally takes up to eight weeks to register. Once registered, the Electoral Commission actively monitors and enforces the use of party names and logos during an election period.

This registration system is specifically designed to protect political identities during elections. It is generally faster, more targeted, and more effective at preventing voter confusion than a trade mark registration.

For political parties, protecting the party name and logo is usually far more important than protecting a campaign slogan.

Copyright and passing off can fill in the gaps
Where additional protection is required, political parties are not without remedies.

Copyright can protect original campaign materials such as:

• advertising videos;
• campaign artwork;
• photographs;
• speeches;
• policy documents;
• promotional music; and
• other creative content produced for the campaign.

Political parties may also be able to rely on the common law action of passing off where another party deliberately adopts branding or campaign materials in a way that misleads the public into believing there is an association or endorsement.

While these rights do not provide exclusive ownership of a slogan itself, they can be effective in addressing more blatant forms of copying or political impersonation.

The value in a political slogan
Political slogans may dominate election campaigns, but they rarely make registrable trade marks.

Most campaign phrases are descriptive, aspirational, and designed for short-term use, making them difficult to register and even harder to enforce. Instead, political parties typically rely on Electoral Commission registration, copyright protection, and passing off to safeguard their political identity.

As the 2026 election campaign gathers momentum, voters will undoubtedly hear plenty of memorable slogans. But while these catchphrases may be competing for votes, very few are competing for a place on IPONZ’s trade mark register.

After all, in politics, the real value of a slogan is not whether you can own it, but whether voters remember it when they step into the polling booth.