Article
New Zealand Legislative Changes Create "Space" For A Second-Tier Patent System
New Zealand's Patents Bill 2008 is presently awaiting its second Parliamentary reading and is expected to come into effect from late 2012. Two changes that will surely be effected under the new Act will be a shift from local to absolute novelty and an extension of Patent Office ("IPONZ") examination criteria to include an assessment of inventive step. In theory, the balance of the "patent bargain" will be shifted in favour of the government – and the patentability threshold lifted as a result.
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