"It was, of course, made to the select committee who were obviously unconvinced," he says.

"All I need to do is point to the explosive growth of the internet, which was based on the idea of openness and uncapturability. In other words, no patents. Indeed, the heydays of the computer software industry have all occurred during periods where patents were not available to software developers."

Christie says many New Zealand companies now have to sign contracts with huge liability indemnity clauses. These generally indemnify the client against IP infringements and have changed the risk profile for small ICT businesses.

"Essentially they are taking on risks that are ruinous and they have very little real hope of being able to cover those liabilities, even when they increase insurance premiums up the wazoo," Christie says.

A former lawyer, Auld is not arguing that patents are perfect. The area has been bedevilled with cases of patents granted on reasonably obvious developments, obstructing further innovation.