NZ Patents Bill report

The NZ Parliamentary Select Commerce Committee has released its 197 page report on the NZ Patents Bill 2009, aimed at updating the 1953 Patents Act and among other things accommodating trans-Tasman trade arrangements.

The Committee voices the inevitable "strengthened and simplified" rubric in discussing the proposed legislation, arguing that the current -

low threshold for patentability compared with most other countries ... can disadvantage New Zealand business and consumers, as technology that may be freely available in other countries can be covered by patents in New Zealand. This can discourage innovation and inhibit growth in productivity and exports.

The statute is expected to exclude some inventions that would otherwise meet NZ patent requirements, including -

• methods of medical treatment of human beings
• human beings and biological processes for their reproduction [consistent with the Australian statute] and
• plant varieties [on the basis that they are protected under the Plant Variety Rights Act 1987 (NZ)]

A Maori Advisory Committee will be established to advise whether an invention is derived from traditional knowledge or indigenous plants/animals and whether commercial exploitation of the invention would be contrary to Maori values.

The Committee recommends amending the Bill to exclude computer programs from patentable inventions, noting claims that "there is no 'inventive step' in software development, as 'new' software invariably builds on existing software".