Recommendations

1. Note that New Zealand's international trade mark obligations are currently determined by membership of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property administered by World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO") and World Trade Organisation Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights;

2. Note that there are a number of WIPO-administrated trade mark treaties to which New Zealand is not a party, including:

• The Madrid Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement, which provides the Madrid system for the international registration of trade marks;
• the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks; and
• the Trademark Law Treaty;

3. Note that the one of the reasons why New Zealand has not considered accession to these treaties previously was the lack of international acceptance of these treaties by our leading trading partners, especially in respect of the Madrid Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement

4. Note that in recent years our leading trading partners have now become party the Madrid Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement and the Trademark Law Treaty or are taking steps to accede to these treaties and, therefore, it is now timely to consider whether New Zealand would benefit from becoming a party to them.

5. Note that while accession to the Madrid Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement and the Trademark Law Treaty would result in amendments being required to the Trade Marks Act 2002 and its associated regulations, accession would not limit New Zealand's ability to prescribe its own substantive trade mark law and achieve specific policy objectives in the area of trade marks;

6. Agree to the release of the attached discussion document: Accession to Certain International Trade Mark Treaties: A Discussion Paper by the Ministry of Economic Development;

7. Note that I will report on the outcome of submissions in response to the attached discussion paper with recommendations for accession to each of the three treaties by the middle of July 2006; and

8. Note that this Cabinet paper is to be published on the Ministry of Economic Development website, subject to any necessary deletions justified in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982.