Archive for January, 2010
The term "inventor" is not defined in the South African Patents Act.
It can however be assumed that an inventor is a person that makes an invention that qualifies as an invention in terms of the Patents Act.
Taking into account what the requirements of patentability are, it can be assumed that a person that come up with an invention that is novel, inventive and has application in trade or industry, qualifies as an inventor.
In the same way as patent claims are construed, i.e. in terms of integers (or essential elements), it can be assumed that a person that bring those integers together will be the inventor. The question is therefore: Who the person(s) is(are) that brought those integers together?
It may be that one person brought together the integers in one claim and another person contributed to the integers in another claim. They will then be co-inventors (or joint inventors). It may also be that both persons contributed to the integers in a single claim, then they will also be co-inventors (or joint inventors). If a single person brought together all the integers of the claims in a patent specification, that person will be a sole inventor.
In event of a dispute to inventorship in which one person inventively contributed to certain claims and another person contributed to certain other claims, the claims to which the inventor cannot lay claim to, may be excised from the set of claims, so as to overcome such a dispute.
Upon filing a patent application the inventor signs a declaration that he/she is the true inventor. A misrepresentation on this declaration may be grounds for revocation of a patent.
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January 18, 2010 | Attorneys
If you want to know whether your website copy is unique and not copied by another website, you can copy and paste the particular URL (web address) into the space provided at a copy checker such as Copyscape.com. As an alternative type in a unique line from your web page in the Google search box. If nothing comes up, the website is still safe. If however you find that copying has taken place, contact a copyright lawyer who will check whether the content has been used with full citation and link back. If not, the copyright lawyer will contact the website owner and ask for the removal of the information and explain why. If no response is received further legal action will be taken. The first step is often to check the domain name holder at WhoIs.com. The contact details can be used to get in touch with the owner directly. The next step can be to contact the hosting company to inform them about the plagiarism of the website. If still no reaction the copyright lawyer will take the case further to the search engines and then relevant authorities for compensation or action to be taken against the perpetrator.
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January 18, 2010 | Copyright
Many website owners never take action against third parties that have copied content from their site without prior permission or full acknowledgement through the correct citation. It occurs because the site owners don’t know their rights under Copyright Law. Many mistakenly believe that under Copyright Law the work must first be registered as copyright protected. Fortunately not. The moment that an idea takes tangible form such as a photo, image, article etc. it already enjoys protection against copying without prior permission and the required citation. This affords website owners more power to act against the perpetrators under Copyright Law. If however, you want to ensure that a book or lengthy piece of work is not copied and have legal grounds to stand on, you may want to get in the help of attorneys specialising in Copyright Law who will be able to provide guidance on the correct steps.
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January 15, 2010 | Copyright
In South Africa, like in most Berne Convention countries, copyright subsist in a qualified work, the moment that the work is created in physical form. Therefore, no registration of copyright is necessary for copyright to subsist. Copyright provides exclusivity to the owner thereof to perform certain acts in respect of the works. In South Africa it is advisable to add the copyright symbol before the name and year or as an alternative write the word ‘copyright’ before the name and year. The South African Copyright Act makes provision to register copyright in cinematograph films. The benefit of registering such copyright is that the rights that already subsist in the copyright owner is recorded at CIPRO and, should the owner thereof institute proceedings, such registration can be used as proof of such rights. In event that copyright is not registered in cinematograph films, such rights first have to be proved during the course of the proceedings.
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January 15, 2010 | Attorneys
You may require the assistance of an intellectual property lawyer when you have infringed on the rights of an intellectual property holder. This can easily happen when you have a website and have used material from another site to create an article. If not properly sited and if you don’t have the written permission from the author to use the graphics or information, the party may file a lawsuit against you. Normally a request will first follow to remove the information from your site. Do so immediately and if further steps have been taken by the party call in the help of an intellectual property lawyer. The best advice is to always seek permission first before using the information. Another instance is where a company requests that you no longer use a design or logo because it causes public confusion since they have a trademark that is similar to yours. This will be more complicated since you may have done branding with the logo and as such will have to establish whether you have in fact infringed on their rights.
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January 15, 2010 | Attorneys
An intellectual property attorney deals with all types of intellectual property whether copyright, patent, trademark or design related. To fully understand the role of the intellectual property attorney we have to look at the term intellectual property. It refers to creations of the mind whereby the owners of the rights have monopolies over the usage of their creations and have the right to benefit commercially from that. The intellectual property attorney applies for patent rights, trademark registration and copyright registration on behalf of the client, but can also assist with the setting up of usage agreements. At the other end of the spectrum the intellectual property attorney can take legal steps on behalf of the client when a third party has infringed on the intellectual property rights of the client.
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January 14, 2010 | Attorneys
The Patent Law in South Africa requires that an invention meets three important conditions:
• Novelty
• Usefulness
• Inventiveness
Under the Patent Law the invention must be completely new. As such the patent lawyers will conduct a novelty search in trade magazines, online, through databases, and newspapers around the world to establish whether any reporting was done on the invention prior to filing for patent rights. In addition the Patent Law requires that the invention must not be obvious to someone skilled in the specific subject area and it must be useful. Inventing something that cannot be used in commerce, medicine or for instance agriculture will thus not constitute the right to a patent. Under the Patent Law something that can be useful will be considered. The best way to ensure successful filing and granting of a patent is to go through patent attorneys when applying for patent rights.
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January 14, 2010 | Attorneys
In South Africa it is not possible to get patent protections for scientific discoveries, literary or musical work, artistic work, aesthetic designs, rules, and method of thinking, mathematical formulas or discoveries. It is also not possible to get patent protections for methods of doing business, presenting information, programming for computers, and playing a game. None of the above is seen as an invention and although protection can be obtained against copying of the above it falls under other categories of intellectual property law. It doesn’t however, mean that you cannot file for a patent application if your so-called work falls within one of the above categories. It does mean that the chances for successfully applying for the patent will be slim and the process may entail extensive litigation to get a patent granted.
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January 13, 2010 | Patent
Patent Lawyers in South Africa are able to assist in the whole patent application process in more than one way. Firstly the patent lawyers will file a provisional patent application at the Patent Office. This is the first step to ensure that the invention date can be stipulated. In case of a later dispute the earliest filing date will be taken into consideration. The patent lawyers will then complete the patent application process within 12 months of the filing. This will also be done in all the countries outside South Africa where you want to get patent rights. As part of this process the patent lawyers will do novelty searches, help with the specifications and get a qualified person to assist with the drawings, will establish the usefulness of the invention, and the inventiveness. Since South Africa doesn’t have an investigating Patent Office, it is the task of the patent applicant or his lawyers to ensure that the invention meets the requirements of a patent.
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If you have a mark, logo, name or shape that distinguishes your goods from the goods of competitors and want to register a trademark to protect against usage thereof without a prior written usage agreement, you will benefit from the services of trademark attorneys. The trademark attorneys will require a copy of the intended trademark and will also need complete information about the products or services for which the trademark must be registered. It is essential since a separate application must be filed by the trademark attorneys for each of the international classes relating to your product or service. It is also possible to obtain international trademark registration through the local trademark attorneys.
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