NEW ZEALAND

COUNTRY : NEW-ZEALAND

CAPITAL : CANBERRA

LANGUAGE : ENGLISH 

 

The IP affairs in New Zealand are administered by Intellectual Property Office New Zealand (IPONZ).


  • INTERNATIONAL TREATIES TO WHICH NEW ZEALAND IS SIGNATORY
  • PATENT LEGISLATION IN NEW ZEALAND

    • IP LAW IN NEW ZEALLAND The New Zealand legal system is based on the Common Law system and Statutory Law.

      Patents in New Zealand are governed by:

      The Patents Act 1953 No.64 Patents are granted by the New Zealand Intellectual Property Office.

  • BASICS REGARDING PATENTABILITY OF INVENTIONS IN NEW ZEALAND

    • Inventions may relate to products, processes or industrial applications. Patents are therefore granted to inventions that:

      • Are New or Novel
      • Involve an inventive step
      • Comprise of a process or an Industrial application of the invention.

      For an Invention to be patentable, it should contain the following:

      (i).Novelty: An invention is considered new or novel if it is not included in the state of the art. State of the art consists of all the information available and accessible to the public prior to the date of filing for the patent application nationally or internationally by means of its description, use or any other method by which it may be known or utilised by experts in the field.

      (ii). Inventive Step: is, given the prevailing state of the art, it is not obvious to an expert in that field. An invention is considered ‘obvious’ when it is within the grasp of a skilled person in that field of expertise & therefore to be expected from him.

      (iii). Industrial Application: of the invention would be ‘when the object of the invention may be produced, manufactured or used in any kind of industry including agriculture’

  • INVENTIONS NOT PATENTABLE IN NEW ZEALAND

    • Inventions pertaining to the following:

      • Discoveries, Scientific Theories & Mathematical methods.
      • Aesthetic creations.
      • Substances already existing in nature and nuclear materials.
      • Charts • Schemes, Rules, Methods for performing mental acts, playing games, doing business as well as Presentation of Information.
      • Programmes for Computers.
      • Inventions contrary to public order & morals.
      • Methods of treatment by surgery or therapy on humans and animals.
      • Plant, animal varieties.
      • Essential biological processes for the production of plants, animals, other than micro biological processes and products of such processes
      • Prejudicial to the Interests or Security of the Nation.

      PartityPatents through it’s associate Law Firms in New Zealand, is at hand to help you with patent registration and prosecution.

  • FILING REQUIREMENTS OF PATENTS IN NEW ZEALAND

    • (i). Name & Address of the applicant.

      (ii). Name & Address of the Inventor.

      (iii). Specification comprising a description claims & drawings if any.

      (iv). Priority Data if any.

      (v). State of incorporation / nationality of the Applicant.

      (vi). Abstract of the Invention.

      (vii). Indications serving to identify the identity of the inventor(s) as well as the Solicitor.

      (viii) Request for examination of the patent.

      (ix). If the patent application relates to a micro-organism or a process in which a micro-organism is used, it is necessary to include a certificate of deposit of the micro-organism with an officially recognised national depositary institution designated by the Government.

      (x). Request for grant of patent.

  • EXAMINATION OF THE PATENT APPLICATION IN NEW ZEALAND
      • Once the application is filed, the application is scrutinised for defence & security aspects.
      • Post filing of the patent application, it is scrutinised for formalities and compliance with all requisites. Any deficiencies found, are to be rectified within a stipulated period of time else, patent application deemed to be abandoned.
      • Applicant to request substantive examination
      • No objections forth coming, application is registered and patent granted.
      • Priority examination of the application may be requested in some instances
  • RIGHTS OF THE PATENTEE IN NEW ZEALAND

    • Patents with a term of 20 yrs.

      • Patents confer on its holders and his successors exclusive rights to work the patent.
      • Patentee may authorise such uses of the patent through a contractual agreement with interested parties as to import, rent out, deliver or sell the product patent .
      • Patentee may authorise the working of the patent either by a manufacturer or by an importer.
      • Patentee may even assign, lease or licence the patent.
      • Patentee is entitled to take legal action against infringers.
  • COMPULSORY LICENCES OF PATENTS IN NEW ZEALAND

    • At any time after the expiry of 3 years from the date of the sealing of the patent or 4 years from the date of the patent, whichever is later, any person interested may apply to the Court for the grant of a licence.

      The grounds upon which a licence may be granted under this section are:

      (i). That a market for the patented invention is not being supplied, or is not being supplied on reasonable terms, in New Zealand.

      (ii.) A licence granted under this section—
      (a) Is not exclusive:
      (b) Must not be assigned otherwise than in connection with the goodwill of the business in which the patented invention is used.
      (c) Is limited to the supply of the patented invention predominantly in New Zealand.

      (iii). Any licence granted under this section may, on the application of any interested party, be terminated by the Court, where the Court is satisfied that the grounds on which the licence was granted have ceased to exist.

      (iv). Where a licence is granted under this section to any person, that person shall pay such remuneration to the patentee as may be agreed, or as may be determined by a method agreed, between that person and the patentee or, in default of agreement, as is determined by the Court on the application of that person or the patentee.

      (v). No licence shall be granted under this section unless the person applying for the licence, having taken all reasonable steps to do so, has been unable to obtain a licence, or to obtain a licence on reasonable terms, from the patentee.

      (vi). No licence shall be granted under this section in respect of a patent relating to an integrated circuit

      ParityPatents along with specialised Patent Lawyers and Patent Attorneys in New Zealand, can assist you comprehensively with Compulsory Licence matters.

  • PATENTS Cost of Registration in NEW ZEALAND
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