a day ago
New music school forced to change name after Te Pūkenga issues cease and desist
A Te Pūkenga representative confirmed to RNZ it owns the MAINZ brand and that the school's use of the name was breaching this.
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An Auckland-based music school says it changed its name after being told it was violating the national polytechnic's legal rights.
The music school was originally called MAINZ Limited, trading as Let's Go, but has since changed its company name to Let's Go Educate Limited.
A Te Pūkenga representative confirmed to RNZ it owned the MAINZ brand and that the school's use of the name was breaching this.
While the Auckland MAINZ campus was closed by Te Pūkenga in 2023, the name is still in use at Ara, its Christchurch-based polytechnic school.
Te Pūkenga said it issued a cease and desist on 12 June, ordering Let's Go music school to change both its name and website.
"Their use of the name and web address is a breach of the intellectual property owned by Te Pūkenga and may be misleading as we still deliver MAINZ courses."
Let's Go Educate is run by a group of former MAINZ staff, who say they acted on legal advice and were told by NZQA that operating under the name was permitted.
Director Christine Fenton said when it named the school no legal company called MAINZ was found but staff were moving forward.
"We're focusing on the future, not the past, so we have now changed our name knowing that the MAINZ community is behind us no matter what we call ourselves.
"We're focused on restoring music provision for the good of the learner and the NZ music industry, and have done so in good faith.
"If Te Pūkenga want that too, they know how to contact us to talk about ways we can cooperate."
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