19 July 2021 Davies Collison Cave The New Zealand Patent Office ( IPONZ) has traditionally applied a hardline approach to double patenting, particularly in relation to parent-divisional claim overlap. However, IPONZ has now issued its first decision on double patenting under the 2013 Act in Oracle), heralding a relaxing of the approach to the assessment of double patenting. As a result of this decision, it is likely that IPONZ will only raise double patenting objections where a claim in a divisional has substantially the same scope as a claim in its parent. Relevant provisions For applications filed under the 2013 Act, i.e., having an