New Guinea Trademark Information

Papua New Guinea (PNG), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands (the western portion of the island is a part of the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua). It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in a region defined since the early 19th century as Melanesia. The population is estimated at 6732000 with a GDP of $13.734 billion.

The eastern half of the island of New Guinea - second largest in the world - was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives.

Trademarks are assigned through the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Investment Promotion Authority (IPA), Intellectual Property Office of Papua New Guinea (IPOPNG). Papua New Guinea is not a member of the Madrid Protocol. A trademark is valid for 10 years and may be renewed for further periods of 10 years each.