MFAT confirmed that software patents are on the table at ACTA, with some members wanting these to be covered. There is, however, no agreement on this.

The mandate for ACTA goes back to the previous Labour government in 2008, and has been re-endorsed by the present National government.

The process behind ACTA is no different to how New Zealand conducts other negotiations and treaties, and once the talks are concluded, the government can decide whether or not it wants to sign it. MFAT disputes suggestions the negotiations are being held in secret, saying the New Zealand government is pushing for the process to be as transparent as possible and welcomes feedback.

Once the negotiations have concluded, the text will be publicly available, and there will be a National Interest Assessment (NIA) that weighs up costs and benefits for government and parliament to review.

Penney, however, says the plurilateral treaty came about as the rich countries couldn't push a similar deal through multilateral bodies such as WTO and WIPO where developing nations are represented in larger numbers.