Patent Attorneys welcome passage of the Patents Bill
2 September 2013
Ian Finch, President of the New Zealand Institute of Patent Attorneys has welcomed the passage of the Patents Bill and
the opportunities that the modernisation of the patents system provides to New Zealand’s innovators.
“We are very pleased that, after a tortuous history, the Bill has finally been enacted. New Zealand’s patent attorneys
and innovators have been operating within the confines of legislation that was sixty years old.”
“When the 1953 Act was passed, there were less than 100 computers in the world, and the transistor had just been
conceived. These things are now ubiquitous. While legislation is meant to be interpreted as forward speaking, the 1953
Act has struggled to keep up with modern concepts and ways of doing business. The new Act will help patent attorneys
support New Zealand businesses to be more innovative and to take those innovations to the world.”
“We look forward to continuing our work with the Government to maximise value for New Zealand innovators.”
Ends.