IPONZ has reviewed its practice with regard to raising objections under s17(1) of the Patents Act 1953.
Following this review, IPONZ will continue to raise objections under s17(1) where it appears that the use of the invention would be contrary to morality for New Zealand society as a whole or for a significant section of the community, including Maori.
As a general guide, claims to the following subject matter are likely to attract an objection under s17(1):
human beings;
processes which give rise to human beings and biological processes for their production;
methods of cloning human beings;
totipotent human stem cells;
human embryos and processes requiring their use;
placental and umbilical cord tissues and processes requiring the use of placental and umbilical cord tissues; and
transformed host cells within a human and other cells and tissues within a human.