Goldsmith Paul: Geographical Indications (Wine and Spirits) Registration Amendment Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeGoldsmith Paul: Geographical Indications (Wine and Spirits) Registration Amendment Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 17 March 2016. Volume:712;Page:9899. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs): I move That the Geographical Indications (Wine and Spirits) Registration Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Primary Production Committee to consider the bill. This bill amends the Geographical Indications (Wines and Spirits) Registration Act 2006. A geographical indication is a name—usually a regional name—that is used to identify the origin of goods where a quality reputation or other characteristic of the goods is related in some essential way to their geographical origin. Foreign wine and spirit producers use geographical indications to identify their products. Well-known examples of these are champagne and Scotch whisky.In New Zealand the main user of geographical indications is the local wine industry. Geographical indications used in New Zealand wines include such terms as Marlborough Martinborough and Gimblett Gravels. Over time as an area’s reputation grows the name adds value. New Zealand wines already attract a premium in foreign markets and we want to preserve that and build on it.It is worth taking a moment to reflect on the amazing progress that the New Zealand wine industry has had in the last decade or so. It was only in the late 1990s that the New Zealand wine exports broke the $100 million barrier. It is now worth $1.5 billion in exports in the last year and rising fast. That is part of the diverse export economy that sustains our living standards here in New Zealand. The Trans-Pacific Partnership with its promise of improved market access is a boost to this industry and we have heard a lot about that over the last few weeks. This bill will also help.If I can go and give a bit of background the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights—otherwise known as the TRIPS agreement—obliges New Zealand to provide protection for geographical indications for wines and spirits. Geographical indications are currently protected in New Zealand by a range of measures including the tort of passing off the Fair Trading Act 1986 the Trade Marks Act 2002 and the relevant provisions of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.The Geographical Indications (Wines and Spirits) Registration Act 2006 provides for a registration system of geographical indications but this Act is not yet in force. It was passed in anticipation that New Zealand would soon begin negotiations on a wine agreement with the European Union. However negotiations never began. At the time the local wine industry did not have an interest in registering geographical indications so the Act was never brought into force.More recently however the local wine industry has become concerned about the potential misuse of New Zealand geographical indications in export markets. This misuse has the potential to adversely affect the reputation of New Zealand wine which as I have said commands a premium price in export markets. The further the premium grows the further the potential for misuse increases. The risk can be mitigated by registering New Zealand geographical indications in these export markets. However most countries will not register geographical indications unless they are registered in their country of origin. As a result the Government has decided to bring this Act into force. An additional advantage of bringing the Act into force is that it will support New Zealand’s interest in launching free-trade agreement negotiations between New Zealand and the European Union.Before the Act can be brought into force some amendments are necessary to clarify provisions in the Act and to ensure that the registration process runs smoothly and sustainably. These amendments are contained in the amendment bill. Most of these amendments are minor and technical. Some amendments are more significant; I will just quickly mention these.The geographical indication registration expires after 10 years unless a renewal fee is paid. The renewal fees will contribute towards the ongoing maintenance of the register of geographical indications and help to keep the initial application fees down.The second one is that we provide that the terms “New Zealand” “South Island” and “North Island” will be protected as registered geographical indications without the need for an application to be made. These terms are used as geographical indications by local wine producers but might not otherwise meet the definition of “geographical indication” in the Act.The Registrar of Geographical Indications would be given the power to refuse to register a geographical indication if registration or use of the indication would be likely to be offensive to a significant section of society including Māori. This mirrors the provision in the Trade Marks Act and ensures that the geographical indications that might be refused registration as trademarks on offensiveness grounds cannot be registered as geographical indications.Once the amendment bill is enacted the Geographical Indications (Wine and Spirits) Registration Act can then be brought into force and it will be possible for interested parties to apply to register geographical indications. The Act will be administered by the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand which is also responsible for other registered intellectual property rights such as trademarks and patents.This is I think an important step in the development and maturity of the New Zealand wine industry. I hope that it will provide an opportunity to help sustain the progress that we are making in this important area of the New Zealand economy and it is of course an important provider of much joy and merriment and happiness to New Zealanders and people around the world who enjoy the New Zealand wine in its great variety and wonderful wonderful quality. I do move that this bill now be referred to the Primary Production Committee for consideration. Thank you.