The purpose of this Part is to regulate the provision of patent attorney services by giving effect to the joint registration regime in accordance with the Arrangement.

In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,—

and providing patent attorney services has a corresponding meaning

Any terms that are used but not defined in this Part, but defined in the joint registration regime, have the meanings given in that regime.

A reference in, or in any regulations made under, this Part to a repealed Australian enactment is a reference to an Australian enactment that, with or without modification, replaces, or corresponds to, the Australian enactment repealed.

Subsection (3) does not limit section 22 of the Interpretation Act 1999.

For the purposes of this Part, an individual is taken to be ordinarily resident in New Zealand if—

However, the individual is taken not to be ordinarily resident in New Zealand if he or she resides in New Zealand for a special or temporary purpose only.

A person providing patent attorney services must be registered under, and comply with, the joint registration regime.

Without limiting subsection (1), the following apply to a person who is ordinarily resident in New Zealand:

The Commissioner must provide information about the joint registration regime on an Internet site maintained by or on behalf of the Commissioner, including information about—

The Commissioner must publish, on an Internet site maintained by or on behalf of the Commissioner, a copy of the Arrangement and Internet links to the Acts and regulations that comprise the joint registration regime.

Section 271 does not prohibit lawyers—

However, this section does not limit sections 277(1) and 279.

An individual commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $6,000, if—

An individual commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $6,000, if—

A company commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $30,000, if—

A company commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $30,000, if—

A partner in a partnership commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $6,000, if—

A partner in a partnership commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $6,000, if—

A limited partnership commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $30,000, if the limited partnership carries on business, practises, or acts as a patent attorney.

A limited partnership commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $30,000, if the limited partnership describes itself, or holds itself out, or permits itself to be described or held out, as a patent attorney or an agent for obtaining patents.

For the purposes of this Part, a person is taken to carry on business, practise, or act as a patent attorney if, and only if, the person does, or undertakes to do, patents work in New Zealand.

In this Part, patents work means 1 or more of the following done, on behalf of someone else, for gain:

Section 274(1), (3), and (5) does not apply in relation to the business of a registered patent attorney who is deceased if the business—

Section 274(1) and (2) does not apply in relation to anything done by a person, as an employee,—

Section 274(3) and (4) does not apply in relation to anything done by a member of a related company group for another member of the group.

The defendant must adduce or point to evidence that suggests a reasonable possibility that a matter in this section exists or does not exist, in order to rely on this section.

In this section, related company group means a group of companies that comprises a company and its related companies within the meaning of section 2(3) of the Companies Act 1993.

An incorporated patent attorney commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $30,000, if the incorporated patent attorney—

An incorporated patent attorney commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $30,000, if the incorporated patent attorney—

No lawyer may prepare a specification or a document relating to an amendment of a specification (or make a representation, or permit another person to represent, that the lawyer is entitled to do so) unless the lawyer is—

A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $6,000.

A partner in a partnership (other than a limited partnership) who is not a registered patent attorney must not prepare a specification, or a document relating to an amendment of a specification, unless—

A partner in a limited partnership who is not a registered patent attorney must not prepare a specification or a document relating to an amendment of a specification.

A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $6,000.

An incorporated patent attorney or an incorporated law firm commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $30,000, if—

A registered patent attorney commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $6,000, if—

Despite anything to the contrary in section 25 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011, the limitation period in respect of an offence under this Part ends on the date that is 5 years after the date on which the offence was committed.

The purpose of this section is to give the Disciplinary Tribunal and the Appeals Tribunal powers in respect of a person or persons that ordinarily reside in New Zealand to enable proceedings to be conducted in Australia.

For that purpose, the Disciplinary Tribunal is deemed to have been declared by the Minister of Justice to be an Australian court under section 152 of the Evidence Act 2006.

The Disciplinary Tribunal and the Appeals Tribunal are declared to be tribunals to which subpart 5 of Part 2 of the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010 applies, and all decisions of those Tribunals that are made in connection with proceedings to review decisions made under the joint registration regime are declared to be orders to which that subpart applies.

The Disciplinary Tribunal may, at a sitting of that Tribunal in New Zealand that involves a patent attorney that is ordinarily resident in New Zealand, exercise all the powers of that Tribunal as if it were a sitting in Australia.

Without limiting subsection (1), the Patents Regulations 1991 (Aust) that are applicable in relation to proceedings in Australia apply to the practice and procedure of the Disciplinary Tribunal at any sitting of that Tribunal in New Zealand.

Without limiting subsection (1), the Disciplinary Tribunal may, at any sitting of the Tribunal in New Zealand,—

Nothing in subsection (2) or (3) applies in relation to—

A decision made under subsection (3) may be enforced by a Judge of the High Court of New Zealand who, for that purpose, has and may exercise the powers, including the power to punish for contempt, that would be available to enforce the decision if it were an order that had been made by a Judge of the High Court in New Zealand.

This section applies if the Disciplinary Tribunal, by instrument in writing signed by the President of the Disciplinary Tribunal, issues a summons that requires a person in New Zealand to appear before the Tribunal to give evidence and to produce documents or articles for the purposes of a sitting of the Tribunal in New Zealand.

The summons may be served on a person in New Zealand by leaving a copy of the summons with that person personally, together with a statement setting out the rights and obligations of that person, including information as to the manner in which application may be made to that Tribunal to have the summons set aside.

A person who has been served with the summons under subsection (1) may not be compelled to comply with the summons unless, at the time of service of the summons or at some other reasonable time before the hearing, allowances and travelling expenses or vouchers sufficient to enable that person to comply with the summons are tendered or paid to that person.

This section applies if the Disciplinary Tribunal, by instrument in writing signed by the President of the Disciplinary Tribunal, issues a certificate stating that a person named in the certificate has failed to comply with a summons referred to in section 284(1).

The High Court may issue a warrant requiring any constable to arrest that person and bring that person before the court.

The High Court may, on the appearance of that person before the court, impose a fine not exceeding $1,000 unless the court is satisfied that the failure to comply with the summons, the onus of proof of which lies with that person, should be excused.

In determining whether the failure to comply with the summons should be excused, the High Court may have regard to—

For the purposes of this section, but subject to subsection (4), a certificate from the Disciplinary Tribunal stating any of the following matters is conclusive evidence of the matters stated in it:

Subject to subsection (4), no findings of fact made by the Disciplinary Tribunal on an application to that Tribunal to have the summons set aside may be challenged by any person alleged to have failed to comply with the summons unless the Tribunal was deliberately misled in making those findings of fact.

The provisions in subsection (2) apply with the following modifications if the Disciplinary Tribunal sits in New Zealand:

The provisions are the following provisions of the Judicature Act 1908:

A registered patent attorney who is ordinarily resident in New Zealand is within the jurisdiction of the Disciplinary Tribunal and the Appeals Tribunal and must co-operate with an investigation by either Tribunal into his or her conduct.

This Part does not apply to a person or company that is part of the patent attorney profession of a country outside New Zealand if—

A registered patent attorney has the same right of lien over documents and property of a client as a lawyer or incorporated law firm, as the case may be, has.

A member of the Disciplinary Tribunal who is ordinarily resident in New Zealand must co-operate with an investigation that is undertaken under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Aust) or the Privacy Act 1988 (Aust).

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council, make regulations for all or any of the following purposes: