Foreword
E nga mata-a-waka o te motu tena koutou katoa
I am pleased to be able to introduce this discussion document on issues related to the patenting of life forms and biotechnology. The document represents a considerable period of in-depth discussion and consideration by members of the Patenting of Life Forms Maori Focus Group, who took on the difficult task of identifying for the Ministry of Commerce the issues of concern to Maori in this area.
The Patents Act 1953 is one of several intellectual property rights statutes in need of review. As you may be aware, following an earlier series of hui in 1994, work on a proposed Intellectual Property Rights Law Reform Bill was postponed after the Ministry of Commerce was made aware of a significant number of Maori concerns in relation to proposed amendments to the Acts. Commerce undertook at that time to hold further consultation with Maori before any decisions on the reforms went ahead. To this end, and following suggestions made at those hui, Commerce established two focus groups to consider issues of concern to Maori in the area of trade marks and patent law reform.
Further hui were held in 1997 to discuss and seek feedback on the recommendations of the Maori Trade Marks Focus Group. Following a lengthy analysis of submissions and feedback received from these hui, I am pleased to be able to tell you that the Minister for Enterprise and Commerce expects to report to the Government shortly with a series of proposals aimed at improving the effectiveness of the Trade Marks Act both for Maori communities, and for businesses generally.
The report of the Patenting of Life Forms Focus Group was also completed during this period. Maori concerns in relation to the reform of the Patents Act have focused on the patenting of life forms, issues which arise in the context of biodiversity, and biotechnology related activity. Accordingly, the Ministry of Commerce will join the Department of Conservation and other agencies, to discuss these issues with Maori communities in the course of broader discussions on the draft National Biodiversity Strategy.
The publication which is in two parts, is made up of the Life Forms Focus Group Report, and this accompanying paper prepared by the Ministry of Commerce on Biotechnology. It is intended to prompt discussion and debate on these issues in order that informed and appropriate decisions on exclusions to patentability can eventually be made.
I would like to thank the members of the Patenting of Life Forms Focus Group for the many hours they put into preparing their report, and I hope that this combined document will provide a useful starting point from which to discuss issues relating to the `exclusions to patentability' in the workshops and hui planned for March of this year.
I hope as many interested people as possible are able to attend these workshops, and I am confident that a meaningful discussion on how the intellectual property rights regime could be further developed to meet the needs of all New Zealanders will follow.
Paul Carpinter
Secretary of Commerce
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