When New Zealand joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) it had to align its intellectual property protection with the minimum standards stipulated under the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). This was achieved under the Copyright Act 1994 together with amendments under the

It is difficult to see any option other than an open economy for New Zealand. But there are many possible open economies although we may not be able to choose some of them. The open economy is an extension of Adam Smith’s principle that specialisation generates higher productivity. That is