We’ve made a number of improvements to our case management facility as of 15 September 2022.

Plant Variety Rights changes

We have recently made the following changes in relation to Plant Variety Rights (PVRs):

• When filing a PVR application, selecting the Botanical Name for a variety will now automatically select the corresponding Use of Variety option. The Use of Variety will continue to determine specific requirements for the application (such as whether seed samples need to be provided).
• Several updates have been made in preparation for the new Plant Variety Rights Act. These changes will be made available in the case management system along with the Act’s commencement.

NZBN details for legal entities

Legal entities in the IPONZ online system that have a corresponding New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) will now reflect the following details from the NZBN register:

• Trading name/s
• Status
• Industry code/s
• Māori Business Identifiers

Updated patents letters

The following patents-related letters have been refreshed, and now include better references to relevant patents legislation for objections and response due dates:

• Request for Restoration reports, including notices that a request has been accepted or declined.
• Filing receipts for provisional patent applications.
• Reminders on the closure of provisional patent applications.