The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) has changed the way that patent details for all Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications entering New Zealand national phase are captured.

From December 2008, patent details for all national phase applications will be copied from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) database. The change in process means a reduction in the time taken to capture information and greater consistency in the way that IPONZ and WIPO format information. The changes apply to the following patent details:

IP Australia will be closed from 25 December 2008 to 1 January 2009 (inclusive).

The Intellectual Property Office of NZ will be closed from 25 December 2008 to 2 January 2009 (inclusive).

Any deadlines occurring on those dates will be accepted on the next business day.

The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand website has now improved its navigation, search and online transactions.

For more information about the changes click here

Where a NZ resident wishes to file an application for a patent abroad without first filing a corresponding patent application in New Zealand, the resident must obtain a foreign filing permit from the Commissioner under section 25(5) before making the foreign patent application.

IPONZ will now accept requests for foreign filing permit by email.

The Patents Bill was introduced to Parliament on 9 July, and will replace the Patents Act 1953.

The purpose of the new Bill is to update New Zealand’s patent regime to ensure that it continues to provide an appropriate balance between providing adequate incentives for innovation and technology transfer while ensuring that the interests of the New Zealand public are safeguarded.

The long awaited New Zealand Patents Bill having key provisions substantially modeled on the Australian Patents Act has been introduced into the New Zealand Parliament. It is expected that the first reading of the Bill and referral to the Select Committee should occur within the next few months. Once the Bill has been referred to the Committee, submissions will be invited. At this stage it is not possible to predict when the Bill will be enacted but it is unlikely to come into force before late 2009.

Both the Australian and New Zealand governments have announced that they will join with a number of other countries (including the USA, Japan, Switzerland, Canada, Korea, Mexico and the EC) to develop an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) as part of an international effort to curb the trade in counterfeit goods and pirated works.

It is intended that ACTA will set a common standard for intellectual property rights enforcement in matters such as criminal enforcement, border protection measures and civil enforcement; and establish enforcement best practices and mechanisms for international cooperation.

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Rules have been amended to allow Member States acting as a Receiving Office or as a Designated Office to provide restoration of a priority claim up to two months beyond the 12 month Paris Convention deadline for international patent applications filed on or after 1 April 2007. Under the amended rules two grounds are available for filing of requests for restoration of priority i.e. that the international application was not filed within the 12 month convention period either in spite of “due care” required by the circumstances having been taken, or that the failure to file in time was “unintentional”.

IPONZ has reviewed its practice with regard to raising objections under s17(1) of the Patents Act 1953.

Following this review, IPONZ will continue to raise objections under s17(1) where it appears that the use of the invention would be contrary to morality for New Zealand society as a whole or for a significant section of the community, including Maori.