$30m sought for space agency name
An unemployed New Plymouth inventor has listed his company – the New Zealand Space Agency – for sale on Trade Me for $30 million.
Scott Savage is the sole director of the New Zealand Space Agency Ltd, which trades as the New Zealand Space Agency 1992.
He wants to sell the company’s name for $30m and has listed it on Trade Me with a starting bid of $3m, with no reserve.
The auction closes today and as of yesterday had not attracted any bids.
That might be because of the exorbitant price but it could also be because the name New Zealand Space Agency is currently being used by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Enterprise.
MBIE is the lead government agency for space policy, regulation and business development and has administered the New Zealand Space Agency since 2016, two years before Savage registered his company.
The Companies Register shows Savage incorporated his company in April 2018, two years after the New Zealand Space Agency was established as ‘‘the front door for space activity in New Zealand’’.
Savage claims MBIE had taken his company name, which he said he came come up with in 1992, without his permission.
‘‘MBIE should have checked with me first if they wanted to use the name of my company,’’ he said. ‘‘They knew I existed but they went ahead anyway.’’
New Zealand Space Agency head, and MBIE general manager of science, innovation and international, Dr Peter Crabtree said the agency was aware of Savage’s position and had responded to him a number of times.
‘‘MBIE conducted due diligence on the use of the name ‘New Zealand Space Agency’ prior to its establishment in April 2016,’’ he said.
‘‘At the time the New Zealand Space Agency was established there was no trademark held over the name, there was no company registered under the name on the Companies Register, and we were unable to identify any unincorporated businesses that were trading under that name.’’