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New Zealand frees itself from 'patent trolls' who get in the way of progress

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By Noel Young, Correspondent

May 9, 2013 | 3 min read

In a widely praised decision, New Zealand has announced that software in the country will no longer be patentable - freeing itself from patent trolls who block progress.

NZ flies the flag for progress

Legislators, In a bill passed earlier today, decided that a computer programme is not an invention - and "not a manner of manufacture for the purposes of this Act."

New Zealand’s Institute of IT Professionals, expressed relief and said the decision removed a major barrier to software-led innovation, reported Forbes magazine.

The policy was passed in a Supplementary Order Paper, which sets out proposed amendments to the existing Patents Bill.

In a post on The New Zealand Herald, Commerce Minister Craig Foss said that following industry consultation he had decided to remove the patentability of software from the Patents Bill, which is currently before Parliament.

“These changes ensure the Bill is consistent with the intention of the Commerce Select Committee recommendation ."

U.S. patent law excludes “abstract ideas”, and this has been used to refuse some patents involving software. In Europe, “computer programmes as such” are excluded from patentability .

In doing this, said the Forbes report by Reuven Cohen , "New Zealand is essentially taking the position that existing laws provide enough protection to software as it is. Patents only serve to stifle innovation because of the ever-looming threat of being sued by so-called patent troll companies."

Internet New Zealand said the decision would end “years of wrangling between software developers, ICT players and multinational heavyweights ."

Chief executive Ian McCrae, of New Zealand’s biggest software exporter, OrionHealth, also welcomed the decision. He said obvious things were being patented under the current regime.

“You might see a logical enhancement to your software, but you can’t do it because someone else has a patent. In general, software patents are counter-productive, often used obstructively and get in the way of innovation.”

Cohen commented, "Well done my Kiwi friends, well done indeed!"

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