Are you Ready for Commencement of New Zealand’s New Patents Act?

New Zealand patent law has been completely overhauled and modernised. Details of the changes can be found here. The new law commences on 13 September 2014, which is only two weeks away!

The new provisions raise the requirements for patentability and the requirements for patent specifications and bring New Zealand patent law into substantial conformity with the patent laws of other developed countries, such as Australia. Among the new provisions is a provision which denies patentability to alleged inventions where the contribution to the art lies solely in it being a computer program.Are you ready for commencement of the new law? Below are some useful tips to consider:

• To benefit from the current lower patentability and specification requirements, we recommend that applicants file proposed New Zealand patent applications or enter the New Zealand national phase prior to 13 September 2014.
• Special consideration should be given to filing software-related applications prior to 13 September 2014 because such applications may not represent patentable subject matter under the new law.