Patents hearing decisions

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Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand

Patent hearings

In this guideline

Patents hearing decisions

Practice following hearing

Following a hearing (either by appearance, written submissions, or on the papers filed) it is normal practice for the Assistant Commissioner to reserve their decision to allow full consideration of the issues.

Assistant Commissioner’s written decision

The Assistant Commissioner will issue a formal written decision setting out detailed reasons for the decision, including any award of costs when applicable.

See patent hearing fees for more information on costs.

Timeframes

Hearings decisions are normally issued within 60 working days from the date of the hearing. For more information on this and other expected timeframes, please visit our Timeframes page.

Timeframes

The decision of the Assistant Commissioner will be sent to both parties via the IPONZ case management facility.

Appeals

Parties may appeal the Assistant Commissioner’s decision within 20 working days after the decision is issued, by:

  • filing a notice of appeal and application for stay of proceedings in the High Court, and
  • notifying the Commissioner.

If no appeal is filed, the decision of the Commissioner is final, and the Commissioner will alter any entry on the register accordingly to give effect to the decision.

If no appeal is filed the Assistant Commissioner’s decision will be final.

Stay of proceedings

When filing a notice of appeal, parties should also make an application to the court or the Commissioner for a stay of proceedings.

If an order for a stay of proceedings is made, the decision of the Assistant Commissioner will not be implemented unless it is upheld on appeal.

If the Commissioner is not notified of an application or order for stay of proceedings, the decision will be upheld and the Register altered accordingly once the appeal period has ended.

If no appeal is filed the Assistant Commissioner’s decision will be final.

Publication of decisions on NZLII

All IPONZ hearings decisions from 1955 onwards are published on the New Zealand Legal Information Institute (NZLII) website, which is open to the public free of charge.

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In this guideline

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