IP/C/W/610/Add.1

New Zealand

The following communication, dated 23 September 2015, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of New Zealand. _______________ 1. Pursuant to Article 67 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the Council for TRIPS has requested reports from developed country Members of their technical and financial cooperation programmes in favour of developing and least developed country Members. The present document reports on New Zealand’s activities concerning technical and financial cooperation in the area of intellectual property (IP), pursuant to the February 2003 decision of the Council for TRIPS. 2. Article 67 of the TRIPS Agreement provides that "developed country Members shall provide, on request and on mutually agreed terms and conditions, technical and financial 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 enforcement of intellectual property rights as well as the prevention of their abuse, and shall include support regarding the establishment or reinforcement of domestic offices and agencies relevant to these matters, including the training of personnel". 3. New Zealand has undertaken technical cooperation activities at the multilateral, regional and bilateral levels. At the regional level, New Zealand’s bilateral and regional trade agreements provides a mechanism for policy dialogue and information exchange on IP with developing country Members. For example, the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) provides an intellectual property committee, which provides a forum for Parties to exchange information on intellectual property issues of mutual interest and coordinate capacity building and technical assistance programmes within the region. 4. The primary New Zealand Government agencies that are involved in IP technical cooperation activities are the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), of which both the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) and Plant Variety Rights Office are business units, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).