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ARTICLE · 16 SEPTEMBER 2012

Three Versions In A Fortnight - New Zealand Again Refines Its Proposed Software Patent Exclusion

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This latest SOP serves "to ensure that an invention that makes use of an embedded computer program may be patented".

AustraliaIntellectual Property
Mark Vincent
Mark Vincent
Gareth Dixon
Gareth Dixon
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When it rains, it pours. Following several years in which "progress" was a somewhat subjective term in respect of New Zealand's patent law reforms, the Government has again shown that they now mean business.

In our previous article ( http://www.shelstonip.com/news_story.asp?m=9&y=2012&nsid=237), we mentioned that the Patents Bill 2008 was finally being prioritised by the Government, seemingly as the result of an "innovation drive". We noted that in the previous week, it had advanced from #50 to #7 on the Parliamentary Agenda – and that it was expected to be passed before the year's end. As at the time of writing (11 September 2012), the Patents Bill now sits at #4 on the Agenda.

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