Name of the Organization : Intellectual Property Office
Type of Facility : Apply For Patent
Country : New Zealand
Website : http://www.iponz.govt.nz/cms/patents
IPO NZ Apply For Patent
A patent is a right that is granted for an invention. You can patent a new product or process, the material it is made from, or how something is made.
Related : Intellectual Property Office Apply For Trade Mark New Zealand : www.statusin.org/6909.html
Owning a patent gives you the exclusive right to commercially exploit an invention for up to 20 years. During this time you can take legal action to prevent others from using the invention without your permission.
A patent gives protection for an invention within a country or broader region, such as Europe. A New Zealand patent gives protection within New Zealand. To obtain patent protection in another country, a patent application needs to be filed in that country, or in a region including that country.
When you apply for a patent you must describe your invention, in what is called a patent specification. Be careful about revealing details of your invention to other people before you have filed your application – doing this may cause your application to be declined.
What can be patented?:
In order for an invention to be patented it must meet certain criteria. It must be new, inventive and useful. It cannot be obvious to someone with a good knowledge and experience of the subject. It must be capable of being made and used in some kind of industry.
An invention must be new:
An invention is new if it is different from anything previously known to the public anywhere in the world. This means that claims are assessed against everything that is published or in use before the priority date (this information is called the “prior art base”). The difference can be small, but it must be significant in terms of how the invention works.
Publications that are checked include: books, web pages, patent specifications, talks or presentations, and traditional knowledge.
Previous use includes: work carried out in industry or by tradesmen, workshop practice and public demonstrations.
An invention must be inventive:
The invention needs to be more than just different. Every claim must include a feature or step which is not obvious to someone with a sound grasp of the technology, when the invention is compared to what is already known or what has already been done. Generally, an inventive step is something unexpected.
An invention must be useful:
To be useful, the claimed invention must have a specific, credible and substantial utility. Broadly, the invention should have a practical application, and should work. Often, this will be self-evident – for example, a new method for making a bicycle. In other cases, claims will be assessed to determine whether the invention has a well-defined and particular benefit to the public and will actually work. For example, perpetual motion machines are unlikely to actually work
How to apply for a patent:
Before you apply for a patent it is a good idea to search to see if your invention already exists. Because the application itself requires legal and technical information, we also recommend that you understand the requirements and gather relevant information before beginning your application.
Finally, you’ll also need to decide where you want to gain protection. This will affect which application pathway is best for you.
Apply Here : http://www.iponz.govt.nz/cms/patents/how-to-apply-for-a-patent/how-to-complete-an-online-application
Further information:
For more detailed information about the format and content of a patent specification see the What makes up a patent specification? page.