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To be eligible for registration ofa patent, an invention must beindustrially applicable, contain a “nonobvious”inventive step and be new ornovel. It is essential that the inventionis not disclosed prior to filing.DesignsA design means features of shape,configuration, pattern, or ornamentapplied to an article by any industrialprocess or means, which appeal to andare judged solely by the eye and whichare not solely functional or a methodor principle of construction. To beregistrable under the Designs Act 1953,a design must be new and originaland must not have been published inNew Zealand before the filing date.The term of a design registration is 15years maximum (provided renewal feesare paid at five and 10 years from theapplication date).CopyrightCopyright is not registrable in NewZealand. Copyright protectionautomatically exists in any originalwork which is, among other works, aliterary, dramatic, musical, or artisticwork, a sound recording, film orcommunication work. Owners of suchoriginal works are granted rights underthe Copyright Act 1994, such as theright to make copies, adaptations, issuecopies to the public and perform/play/show the work in public.The term of copyright is generally 50years from when the work was madein the case of sound recordings andfilms and 50 years from the death of theauthor in the case of literary, dramatic,musical and artistic works.Goods and Services TaxGoods and Services Tax (GST) is aconsumption tax which is charged onthe supply of most goods and servicesin New Zealand at a rate of 15%.Businesses are responsible for chargingGST where appropriate and collectingit on behalf of the government. GST onbusiness purchases and expenses maybe claimed back. It is important to seektax advice on GST registration and GSTrecords and returns.THE NEW ZEALAND LEGALSYSTEMGovernmentThe New Zealand system ofgovernment is derived from the Englishone and comes from two main sources,the common law and statute law.The common law is a body of law madeup from judicial decisions made in theUnited Kingdom and in New Zealand.Additionally, other decisions madein jurisdictions such as the UnitedKingdom, Australia, United States andCanada are sometimes relevant andoften used to assist the Courts to makedecisions in novel or emerging areasof law. Statute law is the law made byNew Zealand’s Parliament.An integral feature of the New Zealandsystem is the separation of poweramong three different branches ofGovernment. The division of powerseeks to ensure that no one branchcan act unconstitutionally. The threebranches are the legislature, theExecutive and the Judiciary.The role of the legislature is tomake law. The legislature consistsof New Zealand’s Parliament whichhas developed from the British22