09 April 2025
Ref: DOIA-REQ-0011917
W Hudson
Email:
[FYI request #30481 email]
Tēnā koe W Hudson
Thank you for your email of 21 March 2025 to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
(MBIE) requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), the following information:
Please treat this as a request under the Official Information Act for all correspondence (internal and
external) and documentation that led to the highlighted changes being made [to the IPONZ website]
.
Preparing a patent application is a complex matter. If you intend to file a patent application, or
have recently filed one, we recommend that you contact a patent attorney for assistance.
Other legal professionals may act for you on some patent-related activities. However, only people
registered as a patent attorney in New Zealand or Australia – or a registered patent attorney firm
in New Zealand or Australia –can do the following for gain (such as payment):
•
Apply for, or obtain, a patent in New Zealand or Australia on behalf of someone else
•
Prepare and amend patent specifications on behalf of someone else
•
Dispense advice (other than advice of a scientific or technical nature) to someone else on
the validity of patents and their infringement.
It is an offence for anyone else to provide these patent services (including advice) in New Zealand
and Australia, or hold themselves out as either a patent attorney or an agent for obtaining
patents.
…
New Zealand lawyers are also required to follow legal obligations related to their duties, and
cannot give advice that lies beyond their specialisations. This includes situations where a lawyer
provides patents advice or holds themselves out as an agent for obtaining patents, despite not
being registered as a patent attorney.
The IPONZ website is regularly updated to keep the information accurate, helpful, and accessible. The
changes referred to in your request were made to the
https://www.iponz.govt.nz/patent-attorneys/ web
page in February 2025 to:
• Reflect a recent change to the
Arrangement Between the Government of Australia and the
Government of New Zealand Relating to Trans-Tasman Regulation of Patent Attorneys.
• Update information based on feedback regarding the website content, which was collated from
around July 2023 up until the publication of the changes. The specific changes you have
highlighted appear to be because of this feedback, namely that:
o use of the terms ‘services’ and ‘advice’ should be clarified
o more context should be provided about receiving advice from New Zealand lawyers
o wording that more closely aligns with the Patents Act 2013 provisions should be used.
There was also some external feedback received via a request under the Act that aligns
with this feedback.
• Adjust the formatting of some content to follow current web accessibility guidelines.
Please find attached the documentation relevant to your request:
• Internal emails discussing and collating feedback dated July 2023 on the relevant sections of the
IPONZ website (pages 1 to 4).
• Screenshot of the above feedback further recorded as proposed changes to the website (pages 5-
6).
• Further internal emails discussing and collating feedback on the proposed changes to the
website, including reference to the external feedback (pages 7-15).
• Draft changes to the patent attorney information content on the IPONZ website, based on the
above feedback, with further internal feedback and comments. Please note that this draft was
not published at the time, but the changes and feedback were later incorporated into the
February 2025 change that your request refers to (pages 16 – 32).
• Internal emails in February 2025 outlining the reason for the proposed changes to the IPONZ
website (pages 33 – 52).
• Draft changes to the patent attorney information content on the IPONZ website, with further
internal feedback and comments. This is the version that led to the changes published in February
2025 that your request refers to (pages 53– 70).
The request under the Act that included external feedback on the web page content is publicly available
and can be found on the FYI website:
Patent attorney services - a Official Information Act request to
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment - FYI
Please note some information has been withheld under section 9(2)(a) of the Act, to protect the privacy
of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons. I do not consider that the withholding of
this information is outweighed by public interest considerations in making the information available.
Please note that this response and enclosed documents, with your personal details removed, may be
published on the MBIE website:
www.mbie.govt.nz/about/open-government-and-official-
information/published-official-information-act-requests.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, or if you require any further assistance,
please con
tact [email address].
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information
about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802
602.
Nāku noa, nā
Gaby Cowcill
Manager Patents (Science) and PVR
IPONZ
Business & Consumer
