"It is common in a patent licence for the patent owner to license more than one patent. Often there will be patent protection in more than one country, while different patents or patent applications may cover different aspects of the licensed technology.

But what happens to the licence where some, but not all, of those patents expire or cease to be in force? It is a question that has left IP practitioners in both New Zealand and Australia wondering, due to section 145(1) of the Patents Act 1990 (Australia), and its New Zealand equivalent, section 168 of the Patents Act 2013."  ...