Request for postponement of acceptance

Prior to acceptance applicants may request that a patent application not be accepted for a period of up to 18 months from the date of filing of the complete specification, or from the 31 month examinable date for applications entering the New Zealand national phase.

When filing an application online applicants can request a postponement of acceptance of up to 18 months by selecting the appropriate option provided on the online application form. The period of postponement can be subsequently modified online until the application is accepted. In particular, if an application under examination is pronounced acceptable, it will not be accepted until the postponement period has expired. The applicant (not the examiner) will have to reduce the postponement period to allow earlier acceptance.