. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
IP/C/W/560/Add.2 
10 October 2011 
 (11-4935) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: 
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS 
 
NEW ZEALAND 
 
Addendum 
   The following communication, dated 29 September 2011, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of New Zealand. 
 
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 1. This submission provides information on New Zealand's activities over the period 
July 2010 - June 2011 that contribute to TRI PS Article 67 commitments regarding technical 
cooperation in favour of developing and least-devel oped country Members in order to facilitate the 
implementation of the TRIPS Agreement.  
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 Members…[this] shall include assistance in the preparation 
of laws and regulations on the protection and enfo rcement of intellectual property rights as well as the 
prevention of their abuse, and shall include suppor t regarding the establishment or reinforcement of 
domestic offices and agencies relevant to these matters, including the training of personnel". 
I. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF NEW ZEALAND 
3. 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.  
4. For example, this year, IPONZ hosted the Assistant Chief Executive Officer and Deputy 
Registrar of the Companies and Intellectual Properties Registries from the Samoan Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour. The three month secondment was funded by the New Zealand Aid 
Programme.  The training programme was designed to assist the Officer in her role as a hearings 
officer and senior staff educator and included t echnical sessions with the patents, trade marks, 
designs, plant variety rights, and IP  outreach education teams.  The Officer also attended trade mark 
and patent hearings before the Assistant Commi ssioners; and spent time with the Ministry of 
Economic Development's National Enforcement Unit, IP Policy Group, and Insolvency Trustee 
Service.  The secondment provided operational and ma nagement insights and tools for staff training, 
public education programmes, and effective case mana gement with particular regard to examination 
reports and hearing decisions.  IP/C/W/560/Add.2 
Page 2  
 
  5. New Zealand will continue to support, on request , future work to improve the intellectual 
property systems of Pacific Island Countries. 
6. In addition, IPONZ and the Ministry of Ec onomic Development's IP Policy Group co-hosted 
a delegation from Viet Nam's Customs Border Protection Unit.  The briefing included an overview of New Zealand intellectual property law, IPONZ opera tions and examples of how IPONZ is working 
with Customs New Zealand and the music and film industry to assist with border protection and 
support IP education programmes. 
II. PLANT VARIETY RIGHTS OFFICE 
7. New Zealand has been a member of the Inte rnational Unions for the Protection of New 
Varieties of Plants (UPOV) since 1987. New Ze aland, through the Plant Variety Rights Office 
(PVRO), actively participates in the UPOV Technical Working Groups.  
8. The IPONZ Plant Variety Rights team act as advisors to the East Asia Plant Variety 
Protection Forum.  The team provides technical assistance on request to Forum Members.  This 
includes providing information about New Zealan d sale dates and denomina tions; data on parent 
plants;  and New Zealand testing guidelines for different varieties.  
III. 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  directed 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 includes supporting opportunities for private-
sector led growth so that producers can incr ease the value from their production and resources, 
including their intellectual property.  Further de tail on some relevant programmes can be found in 
New Zealand's report on the implementation of  Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement. 
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