A new Patents Bill is at present working its way through Parliament to update the current 1953 act. Patents are rights granted over inventions.

They give holders exclusive rights to make, use and sell patented inventions for a maximum of 20 years from the date which an application is filed.

The exclusive rights period is intended to enable inventors to make returns on their inventions, thereby encouraging innovation. However, the protection of patents provides a monopoly right and can therefore impose costs on society.

Patents should accordingly only be granted for genuine innovations which involve an inventive step – ie, something non-obvious – and are useful. Once a patent has expired, anyone can use the invention.

The new Bill will strengthen the criteria for granting patents by introducing an “absolute novelty” standard, examination for inventive step and usefulness, and a “whole of contents” approach to dealing with conflicting applications.

The current requirement for the Commissioner of Patents to give applicants the benefit of the doubt when deciding whether to grant a patent will be replaced by a balance of probabilities approach.

The Bill retains the current definition of patentable subject matter as a “manner of manufacture” and provides specific exclusions from patent protection for human beings and biological processes for their generation, medical treatments for humans, and inventions whose commercial exploitation would be contrary to public order or morality.

The procedures for the granting of patents will be simplified, and processes for challenging patents will be streamlined. The regulatory regime for patent attorneys will be updated. The legislation also provides for the establishment of a Maori advisory committee to provide advice to the commissioner in respect of patent applications for inventions involving indigenous plants and animals.

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