12. CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (National) Link to this
to the Associate Minister of Commerce
Does she stand by her statement regarding the Copyright (New Technologies and Performers’ Rights) Amendment Bill that “Under this Government there have been seven pieces of legislation concerning this matter, and indeed a number of new ones are coming through.”; if so, what are these new pieces of legislation and what intellectual property issues will they deal with?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD (Associate Minister of Commerce) Link to this
Yes, I stand by my statement. I was referring to the intellectual property trademarks and patents work stream, where we are looking at opportunities to maximise the economic and cultural returns New Zealanders get from their intellectual property, while also ensuring that New Zealanders have good access to information, research, and creative and cultural innovations from the rest of the world. The new legislation includes a Patents Bill that will replace the Patents Act 1953 and update New Zealand’s patents regime, and the Trademarks (International Treaties and Enforcement) Amendment Bill, which contains provisions to allow accession to three international treaties concerning trademarks, and which will empower the Ministry of Economic Development and the New Zealand Customs Service to enforce criminal offence provisions for trafficking in counterfeit goods and pirated works. Other new legislation is being considered.
Christopher Finlayson Link to this
Why has she yet again failed to address the important issue of tribal ownership of intellectual property, particularly given that the World Intellectual Property Organization has been working on the issue for years, and Māori, quite apart from the claims under Wai 262, have been asking the Government that the issue be addressed in any intellectual property law reform?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD Link to this
The member confuses traditional knowledge with intellectual property. Those are two streams of work. There is extensive work going on. New Zealand is an active participant in the World Intellectual Property Organization, as it is in the Pacific Arts Festival and other international fora relating to traditional knowledge. We are also doing a great deal of work under the Wai 262 process, where we are waiting of course for a Waitangi Tribunal finding. Traditional knowledge is being addressed in a number of areas, but it is not intellectual property in most cases.
Dr Pita SharplesDoes she agree with Dr Paul Tapsell that the issue about the repatriation of toi or uru moko from the Museum of Natural History in Rouen is about the protection of the trade in human beings; if so, what action will she be taking to ensure that toi moko are returned from France?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD Link to this
I have not seen that quotation from Dr Paul Tapsell. However, I am aware of his concerns and of those of many other people. Te Papa is leading an extensive survey and programme of repatriation of toi moko.
Christopher Finlayson Link to this
Why has the current legislation failed to deal with person-to-person file-sharing and websites that encourage video sharing, and how will any new pieces of legislation, which she said yesterday were “coming through”, deal with those matters?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD Link to this
It is part of our work programme, and we will get it on to the legislative timetable as quickly as possible.
Christopher Finlayson Link to this
Why is it that new section 226D, inserted into the principal Act by clause 89 of the bill, means that any circumvention device would be able to be freely made and sold, simply because it could be used by someone for a legal purpose, and does that not mean that the ban on the circumventing of devices is almost irrelevant?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD Link to this
I understand that this matter can be debated in the course of considering the bill that is before the House at present. However, the general provision around technical protection measures includes, particularly, provision for people who have a sight disability or who are blind, and who therefore have good reason to be given access to information. All of this legislation balances the competing interests of people who have legitimate interests. My concern is to make sure that New Zealanders have the best access, and that the owners of intellectual property have the best protection that we can manage.
What response will she make to Māori concerns regarding the intellectual property guide that she is launching tonight—concerns that Māori have consistently raised over the past 16 years in the Wai 262 claim—including concerns that it undermines the underlying principle that not all mātauranga Māori should be commercialised, and that new measures must be designed to protect the collective and intergenerational interests of iwi Māori in Māori biocultural heritage issues?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD Link to this
That issue is generally being dealt with under the Wai 262 claim. The Māori guide to intellectual property, which we are launching this evening, is trying to give a better description to all New Zealanders, but particularly to Māori, of what is intellectual property, so that they can gain whatever protection they seek in that area, recognising that all traditional knowledge is not necessarily intellectual property and therefore cannot be protected through that process.