. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
IP/C/W/582/Add.1 
19 October 2012 
 (12-5706) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: 
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS 
 
NEW ZEALAND 
 
Addendum 
   The following communication, dated 11 October 2012, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of New Zealand. 
 
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 1. Pursuant to Article 67 of the Agreement on Tr ade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property 
Rights (TRIPS), the Council for TRIPS has requested  reports from develope d country Members of 
their technical and financial c ooperation programmes in favour of developing and least developed 
country Members.  The present document reports on New Zealand's activities concerning technical 
and financial cooperation in the area of intellect ual property (IP), pursuant to the February 2003 
decision of the Council for TRIPS.  
2. Article 67 of the TRIPS Agreement provides th at "developed country Members shall provide, 
on request and on mutually agreed terms and conditi ons, technical and financ ial cooperation in favour 
of developing and least developed country Me mbers…[ this] shall include assistance in the 
preparation of laws and regulations on the protec tion and enforcement of intellectual property rights 
as well as the prevention of their abuse, and sha ll include support regarding the establishment or 
reinforcement of domestic offices and agencies relevant to these matters, including the training of 
personnel". 
3. New Zealand has undertaken technical cooperati on activities at the multilateral, regional and 
bilateral levels.  At the regi onal level, New Zealand particip ates in the Asia-Pacific Economic 
Cooperation Intellectual Property Rights Expert's  Group (APEC-IPEG), which provides a forum for 
sharing information and best practices on intellectua l property rights. New Zealand's bilateral trade 
agreements also provide a mechanism for policy dialogue and information exchange on IP.  For 
example, New Zealand participates in the ASEA N-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement 
(AANZFTA) IP Committee, which provides an avenue for regular discussions on a range of IP topics 
of mutual interest to the participants.  
4. The primary New Zealand Government agencies th at are involved in IP technical cooperation 
activities are the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), the Intellectual Property 
Office of New Zealand (IPONZ), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). IP/C/W/582/Add.1 
Page 2  
 
  I. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF NEW ZEALAND 
5. The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) provides technical assistance on 
request to developing and least developed countries.  Due to New Zealand's history, cultural links and 
geographic location, requests tend to come from neighbouring Pacific Members.  New Zealand will 
continue to support, on request, future work to im prove the intellectual property systems of Pacific 
Island countries. 
II. PLANT VARIETY RIGHTS OFFICE 
6. New Zealand has been a member of the Inte rnational Unions for the Protection of New 
Varieties of Plants (UPOV) since 1987.  New Z ealand, through the Plant Variety Rights Office 
(PVRO), actively participates in the UPOV Technical Working Groups.  
7. The IPONZ Plant Variety Rights team act as advisors to the East Asia Plant Variety 
Protection Forum. The team provides technical a ssistance on request to Forum Members.  This 
includes providing information about New Zealand sale dates and denominations;  data on parent 
plants;  and New Zealand testing guidelines for different varieties.  
III. SEMINARS 
8. New Zealand officials presented at the following regional and international fora in the period 
July 2011 to June 2012: 
 IPONZ gave a presentation and participated in the ASEAN-WIPO IP Education & Training 
Workshop in Malaysia.  The focus of the presentation was sharing national experiences on 
teaching, training and education in the field of IP.   
 
 An official from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment gave a presentation 
on protecting traditional knowledge through the IP system to a special APEC IP meeting in 
Lima in September 2011.  
 
 New Zealand gave two presentations on copyri ght at the WIPO Sub Regional Meeting in 
Apia, Samoa, in October 2011.  The topics presented on were the Economic, Social and Cultural Benefits of Protecting Copyright a nd Related Rights", and "The Importance and 
Advantages of Acceding to Copyright Based Treat ies: Berne Convention to Internet Treaties". 
 
IV. NEW ZEALAND MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE'S 
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT GROUP 
9. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tr ade (MFAT) manages the New Zealand Aid 
Programme.  The majority of New Zealand's aid is di rected to developing and least developed country 
Members in the Pacific and key partners in Asia.  The New Zealand Aid Programme has a core focus 
on sustainable economic development.  This incl udes supporting opportunities for private-sector led 
growth so that producers can increase the value fro m their production and resources, including their 
intellectual property.  Further detail on programmes of relevance to TRIPS Article 67 can be found in 
New Zealand's report on the implementation of  Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement. 
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