Ashburton's first Night Noodle Market will also be its last - at least with that name.
That’s because the district council has been slapped with a copyright infringement.
“Unbeknown to us it’s a registered trademark with Stuff - which we had no idea - so we shall cease and desist and come up with a new name,” compliance and development group manager Jane Donaldson said.
The council, who ran the event on September 2 alongside the Hakatere Multicultural Council, received a letter from Stuff’s lawyers about the trademark breach on September 8.
Donaldson said given that the Night Noodle Markets name and concept is owned by the media conglomerate, the council has agreed to change the name of any future events.
“We'll be reviewing the event and the name for any future events with our co-hosts, Hakatere Multicultural Council.
“Council's event calendar for 2024 is yet to be finalised, so we cannot confirm any dates at this stage. However, we note the strong public support for making the noodle market a regular event.”
An estimated 5000 attended the inaugural noodle night, which caused reports of overcrowding and long lines in the West St carpark.
“Feedback from the public, food vendors, and participating restaurants has been very positive,” Donaldson said.
“As it was the inaugural event, it was hard to accurately gauge how many people would attend and the turnout was considerably larger than expected.
The West St carpark has already been identified as being an unsuitable venue for hosting similar events in future.
“It is problematic from a safety perspective,” economic development manager Simon Worthington said.
“Just with the sheer numbers and people crossing the state highway, so it makes sense to try and move away from that area of risk.”
The under-development Baring Square East has been identified as an option.
- By Jonathan Leask
Local Democracy reporter
