. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/550/Add.4 
22 October 2010 
 (10-5506) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: 
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS 
 
NEW ZEALAND 
 
Addendum  
  The following communication, dated 22 October 2010, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of New Zealand. 
 
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 1. This submission provides information on New Ze aland's activities over the period July 2009 
to June 2010 that contribute to TRIPS Article 67 commitments regarding technical cooperation in 
favour of developing and least-developed country Me mbers 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 New Zealand Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) provides technical 
assistance on request to developing and least developed countries to assist in establishing intellectual 
property offices.  Due to New Zealand's history, cu ltural links and geographical location, most such 
requests have come from Pacific Island countries.   
4. For example, in 2009, IPONZ hosted a Senior Intellectual Property Officer from the Samoan 
Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour on a short-term study award funded by the New Zealand 
Aid Programme.  The one year secondment enabled th e Officer to learn more about the examination 
and processing of intellectual property rights.   The training involved learning New Zealand trade mark law and practical experience with conducting tr ade mark examinations.  The Officer also spent 
time learning IPONZ systems. This knowledge wa s fed back to the Samoan Office and provided 
insights into the provision of efficient and quality examination services, and informed the 
development and training of the Samoan Registries Staff.  
5. New Zealand will continue to support, on request , future work to improve the intellectual 
property systems of Pacific Island Countries. IP/C/W/550/Add.4 
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  II. NEW  ZEALAND  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.  For example, the PVRO contributed to the Technical Working Group for Fruit Crops, Ornamental and Forest Trees in Anger 
France in September 2009.  The main objective for each working party is the development of 
international applicable test guidelines for the t esting of specific plant genera and species.  The 
working parties provide the opportunity for UPOV me mber states to share a nd transfer technical 
expertise. The UPOV system facilitates internati onal harmonization, resulting in the promotion and 
development of plant variety prot ection in developing countries.  
7. The PVRO responds to regular queries from de veloping countries, from mainly within the 
UPOV membership, for technical advice regarding the testing of varieties for specific plant genera 
and species.  Information is supplied based on pr actical experience and (where they have been 
developed for national use), test guidelines.  For example, the PVRO has been working with China drafting UPOV test guidelines for Kiwifruit.  This has led to China making ongoing unofficial 
requests for the PVRO to provide technical assist ance with the drafting of other ornamental 
guidelines.  
8. The PVRO moderated a number of sessions at the UPOV DUS (distinctiveness, uniformity 
and stability) Seminar held in Geneva in April.  UPOV members use a range of approaches to DUS 
testing.  New Zealand utilises a broader range of options than most authorities and is seen as a 
valuable provider of expert technical advice within this forum.  
9. The Plant Variety Office was requested and cont ributed a technical DUS expert advisor to 
participate in the East Asia Plant Variety Protection Forum (PVRP) training workshop on the harmonization of Test Guidelines for tropical fruit species in Thailand in July.  The visit was 
organised by the East Asian PVRP Forum, and w as comprised of ASEAN nations plus China, Korea 
and Japan . 
10. On request, the PRVO also provides guidance and assistance to non-UPOV member states.  
For example, the PVRO provided Malaysia with access to New Zealand DUS test reports for Kiwifruit varieties.  
III. NEW ZEALAND AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 
11. 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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