On 30 May 2026, the New Zealand Parliament passed the Patents Amendment Bill, introducing significant amendments to the Patents Act 2013. The Bill received Royal Assent on 4 June 2026 and came into force the following day – 5 June 2026.
I. Why Was the Amendment Necessary?
Under the original transitional arrangements of the Patents Act 2013, patent applications filed before the 2013 Act came into force (i.e., applications filed under the now-repealed Patents Act 1953), along with any divisional applications derived from them, continued to be examined under the lower standards of the 1953 Act. The 1953 Act’s examination criteria were significantly less stringent than those of the 2013 Act, particularly with respect to novelty and inventive step requirements.
More critically, the 1953 Act imposed no deadline for filing divisional applications, allowing applicants to repeatedly file new divisional applications during a transitional period of up to 20 years. This effectively enabled inventions that would not otherwise merit patent protection to obtain patents under a lower standard. While third parties could challenge such patents through opposition, revocation, or re-examination proceedings, these processes are time-consuming, costly, and uncertain in outcome.
II. Core Changes Introduced by the Amendment Act
The Amendment Act revises the transitional provisions of the Patents Act 2013 to impose stricter examination standards on divisional applications derived from 1953 Act parent applications that are filed after the Amendment Act comes into force.
Under newly inserted section 258A, although such divisional applications will continue to be treated as applications made under the Patents Act 1953, the Commissioner of Patents must be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that:
· the claimed invention is novel;
· the claimed invention involves an inventive step; and
· each claim of the complete specification is supported by the matter disclosed in the specification.
These higher standards also apply to any opposition, revocation, and re-examination proceedings concerning such 1953 Act divisional applications.
In addition, the Amendment Act introduces complementary amendments to section 146 (prior use defence in patent infringement actions), section 254 (grounds for re-examination and revocation of 1953 Act patents), and section 258 (transitional treatment of divisional applications) to ensure consistency and fairness across the legislative framework.
III. Legislative Timeline
The Amendment Act progressed through Parliament over approximately one year:
Stage | Date |
Bill Introduced | 21 May 2025 |
First Reading | 17 July 2025 |
Select Committee | 16 July 2025 |
Second Reading | 28 May 2026 |
Committee of Whole House | 28 May 2026 |
Third Reading | 28 May 2026 |
Royal Assent | 4 June 2026 |
Commencement | 5 June 2026 |
Note: The Bill’s clause 2 expressly provides that the Bill comes into force on the day after Royal Assent.
IV. Policy Objective
The general policy statement of the Bill makes clear that the amendment aims to prevent third parties from having to incur high costs to oppose undeserving patents. By raising the examination standards for 1953 Act divisional applications to a level substantially consistent with those of the 2013 Act, inventions lacking genuine innovation can be filtered out at the examination stage, thereby safeguarding the integrity of the patent system.
V. Scope of Application
It is important to note that the stricter standards apply only to 1953 Act divisional applications filed on or after 5 June 2026. Divisional applications filed before that date will continue to be examined under the original transitional provisions and remain unaffected.
Practice Note
This amendment materially raises the examination threshold for divisional applications derived from Patents Act 1953 parent applications. Applicants should promptly review any pending divisional applications in the pipeline that trace back to 1953 Act parent applications.
Source: https://www.iponz.govt.nz/news/parliament-passes-the-patents-amendment-bill/
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