Power Simon: Trade Marks Amendment Bill Copyright Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Readings 
Power Simon: Trade Marks Amendment Bill Copyright Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Readings 
[Volume:675;Page:21146] 
Hon SIMON POWER (Minister of Commerce) 
: 
 I move  
That the Trade Marks Amendment Bill and the Copyright Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a third time 
. The first objective of these bills is to align New Zealand’s procedures for registering trademarks with international standards to minimise regulatory and business compliance costs associated with the protection of trademarks. 
This legislation which was formerly the Trade Marks (International Treaties and Enforcement) Amendment Bill amends the Trade Marks Act to implement the international registration regime for trademarks provided for by the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protocol). The Madrid Protocol is designed to assist business exporting to several countries at one time by providing a simplified procedure to protect their trademarks overseas. Joining the Madrid Protocol will provide New Zealand businesses with the opportunity to have their trademarks protected in up to 82 countries by filing one application in English with the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Can I just remind members that it is a convention of the House that if they wish to have conversations that are not related to the issue at hand they should take them outside and show some courtesy to the member who is trying to address the Chamber. 
Hon SIMON POWER 
: I thought I was doing OK Mr Assistant Speaker but anyway thank you for your assistance. 
Businesses will still be able to apply for trademark protection directly in each of these countries as is currently the case. The Trade Marks Act is also amended to align domestic registration procedures with the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks and of course the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks. By joining these World Intellectual Property Organization or “WIPO” treaties the Government is sending a strong message to the world that New Zealand has a credible and efficient regime for the protection of trademarks. 
The second objective of these bills is to provide for the increased enforcement of the criminal offences under the Trade Marks Act and the Copyright Act. Counterfeiters make victims of legitimate businesses and innocent consumers. Counterfeit goods can be of poor quality and many of these products can also represent a serious risk to the safety of consumers. Internationally there is also evidence that the trade in counterfeit goods is linked to more serious organised crime. It is the intention of the Government not to allow New Zealand to become an easy target for counterfeit and pirated works and this is particularly timely legislation prior to the Rugby World Cup. 
In recognition that the majority of counterfeit goods sold in New Zealand are sourced from overseas the legislation provides new enforcement powers to the New Zealand Customs Service I say to Mr Williamson. The legislation clarifies that customs officers are able to seize counterfeit goods and pirated works at the border and undertake investigations to enable importers of such goods to be prosecuted. Customs officers will also be able to require any person connected with the importation of the goods to produce documents concerning those goods or to answer questions. These powers complement the existing border enforcement powers available to them under the Customs and Excise Act 1996. 
These bills will provide enforcement officers employed by the Ministry of Economic Development as well as the police with tailored investigative powers under the Copyright Act and the Trade Marks Act to gather evidence to bring criminal prosecutions against counterfeiters. I envisage that once these bills are enacted the Customs Service and the Ministry of Economic Development will work cooperatively alongside the police and right-holders to tackle the counterfeit goods and pirated works industry. 
I take this opportunity to particularly thank the officials for the work they have done on this legislation over a long period of time in particular George who will know to whom I refer. I commend these bills to the House.