Trademark Registration Services
August 24, 2011
Trade Marks ™ ®
Smit & Van Wyk, Inc. attorneys will file your trademark application in South Africa and carry out all needed tasks in order to obtain registration approval.
As soon as your trademark is filed we will send you a report which includes the application number and date, as well as a scanned copy of the filed trademark application.
Once your trademark application is approved, the Smit & Van Wyk, Inc. trademark attorneys will complete all necessary tasks in order to obtain the registration certificate from South Africa Trademark Office.
Trademark Registration Services
Smit & Van Wyk, Inc. is a team of specialist intellectual property attorneys and professionals with years of experience in filing & prosecuting trademarks, trademark searches, trademark monitoring, trademark litigation, disputes & settlement agreements, domain name disputes and Advertising Standard Authority Disputes.
- Your trademark registration application will be filed correctly and according to your instructions
- If any rejections arise during the registration process, we will advise you regarding the necessary course of action
- All information provided will be kept in absolute confidence.
What trademark can I register?
Your trademark can be a brand name, slogan, logo, a shape or a color – or combined.
Contact Details for Smit & Van Wyk:
Tel:
+27 (0) 12 349 7800
Fax:
+27 (0) 86 619 0493
E-mail:
enquiries@svw.co.za
Physical Address / Courier:
Block A Apex Corporate Park
Quintin Brand Street
Persequor Technopark
Meiring Naudé Avenue
Pretoria
0184
South Africa
Related Trademark Links
What is a Trademark? – A trade mark (trademark or trade-mark) is a distinctive sign used to identify original products or services…
Trademark Violations – Trademark infringement could cost you profits and damages and when your registered trademark is violated by…
Trademark Symbol – When a trademark is used in relation to services rather than products, it may sometimes be called a service mark…
Trademark Registrations – Anything which is used in trade to distinguish your goods or services from the goods and services of others…
Trademark a Name – Any name that is used in trade to distinguish your goods or services from the goods and services of others as…
Recommend on Facebook- Share on Linkedin
- Tweet about it
- Buzz it up
- Print for later
- Tell a friend
How to register a Trade Mark?
August 22, 2011
Intellectual Property Information, Trade Marks ™ ®
Trade Marks refer to a brand name, company name, slogan or logo.
A Trade Mark identifies the services or goods of one entity and distinguishes it from another.
Trade Mark examples include:
- Brand Name – Google, iPad, Facebook, Pepsi
- Slogan – “simpler, better, faster” (Standard Bank), “so good” (KFC)
- Logo – Colonel Sanders (KFC), Bunny (Playboy), Window (Microsoft)
A logo is a distinctive picture or symbol.
A brand name or company name is a word / combination of words (e.g. LG Electronics).
A slogan is a phrase or sentence.
Logos, slogans and names provide a distinctive identity for your products and services.
When you register a trade mark to your name, slogan or logo, no one else can use it, or one that is confusingly similar.
A trade mark can only be protected and defended if it is registered.
Un-registered trade marks may be defended in terms of common law.
The owner of the registered trade mark has exclusive right to use that mark.
CIPRO administers the Register of Trade Marks which is the record of all the trade marks that have been formally applied for and registered in the Republic of South Africa.
A registered trade mark can be protected forever, provided it is renewed every ten years upon payment of a renewal fee.
How to register my Trade Mark?
Contact a qualified and experienced trade mark attorney to register your trade mark. The trade mark attorney would require you to provide them with a copy of your intended trade mark as well as details of all products or services that you intend applying the trade mark to.
Trade marks are registered at the South African Trade marks Office and foreign trade mark registrations may be obtained should you wish to market your product in foreign countries.
Related Trademark Links
What is a Trademark? – A trade mark (trademark or trade-mark) is a distinctive sign used to identify original products or services…
Trademark Violations – Trademark infringement could cost you profits and damages and when your registered trademark is violated by…
Trademark Symbol – When a trademark is used in relation to services rather than products, it may sometimes be called a service mark…
Trademark Registrations – Anything which is used in trade to distinguish your goods or services from the goods and services of others…
Trademark a Name – Any name that is used in trade to distinguish your goods or services from the goods and services of others as…
- Recommend on Facebook
- Share on Linkedin
- Tweet about it
- Buzz it up
- Print for later
- Tell a friend
Fake Apple Stores in China
August 15, 2011
Copyright ©, Trade Marks ™ ®
Image source: bbc.co.uk
A total of 22 fake Apple stores have been uncovered in Kunming, China. The investigation had unveiled 22 stores violating Apple‘s registered trade marks.
The 22 fake shops were unlawfully using Apple‘s brand and logo. Two of them were shut down for trading without a license.
Authorities began searching for fake Apple stores in Kunming after photos of a convincing replica circulated on the web.
An American living in Kunming published a blog post describing a visit to one of these fake Apple shops.
The fake shop had the words “Apple Store” written on the front. The shop owners copied the decor and ambiance of a real Apple store.
Staff also wore the same uniforms as real Apple staffers and they believed they were working in a real Apple store
The only official Apple stores in China are in Beijing and Shanghai.
Image source: bbc.co.uk
- Recommend on Facebook
- Share on Linkedin
- Tweet about it
- Buzz it up
- Print for later
- Tell a friend
RhoDIS – Rhino DNA Index System
July 21, 2011
Intellectual Property News, Trade Marks ™ ®
Image source: nationalgeographic.com
Statistics show that 1 rhino is killed every 30 hours in South Africa.
Rhino horn has been an essential ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries even though it’s repeatedly been proven to be of no use to anyone except the original owner… the rhino.
Rhino horns are made of keratin, the same type of protein that makes up hair and fingernails.
The RhoDIS (Rhino DNA Index System) is the first DNA database that will match seized rhino horns with carcasses from national parks, reserves, game farms and zoos.
RhODIS will even be used to prove that the person caught with a rhino horn, was also involved in killing it.
Dr Cindy Harper, head of Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of Pretoria said the primary aim of the RhODIS database is to support the investigation of rhino poaching incidents through forensic DNA testing.
SANParks has received more than 1 000 rhino DNA sample kits from the University of Pretoria.
DNA data of 2000 rhino are saved on the RhODIS database and will ensure more successful prosecutions of rhino poachers.
SANParks CEO, Dr David Mabunda said that the RhODIS database kits would also assist rhino managers with the individual rhino in their care and encourage them to take full advantage of this opportunity.
Rhino poaching has become increasingly sophisticated as poachers fly in on aircraft, use darts to sedate the rhino and cut off the horns without even alerting game rangers, then leave the animals to bleed to death.
RhoDIS could help reveal rhino horn trade networks and give police intelligence to aid the prosecution of those higher up the chain.
Rhino DNA evidence is now being used successfully in court cases related to specific poaching incidents.
RhoDIS is supported by SAB Miller, BMW, 702 Talk Radio LeadSA and the University of Pretoria.
Subject to funding, the RhoDIS team now want to create DNA databases for other African endangered species.
- Recommend on Facebook
- Share on Linkedin
- Tweet about it
- Buzz it up
- Print for later
- Tell a friend
International Intellectual Property Attorneys
July 20, 2011
Copyright ©, Intellectual Property News, Patents, Registered Designs, Trade Marks ™ ®
Smit & Van Wyk, Inc. is a specialist legal practice in South Africa dealing exclusively with international intellectual property law.
The Smit & Van Wyk, Inc. foreign department in addition to advising on protection, specializes in assisting overseas agents and applicants with filing and prosecution of cases in South Africa and other African countries.
Our fields of practice encompass all aspects intellectual property, including litigation, relating to patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright, in South Africa.
Our practice specializes in assisting South African and international clients to identify, protect and exploit their patents, trademarks and registered designs in South Africa and internationally.
Once the intellectual property of a business has been identified, steps should be taken to protect it, by means of registered patents, trademarks, registered designs, or unregistered forms of intellectual property protection, such as copyright, contractual agreements or non-statutory forms of protection.
Smit & Van Wyk, Inc.International Intellectual Property services includes:
Patents
- Patent Applications
- Patent Searches
- Patent Prosecution
- Patent Litigation
- Drafting & Preparing of Patent Specifications
- Filing & Prosecuting Patent Applications at the South African Patent Office
- Filing & Prosecuting International Patent Applications
- High Court Litigation
- Patents Industrial Designs
- Advice on Licensing and Assigning Patents
- Assistance in Applying for Government Grants
Trademarks
- Trademark Searches
- Trademark Applications
- Trademark Registrations
- Trademark Monitoring
- Trademark Licensing
- Trademark Disputes & Settlement Agreements
- Filing and Prosecuting South African and Foreign Trademarks
- Trademark Oppositions and Infringement Litigation
- Trademark-based Domain-name Disputes and Litigation
- Domain name Disputes
- Advertising Standard Authority Disputes
Copyrights
- Copyright Advice
- Copyright Agreements
- Copyright Licensing
- Copyright Litigation
Registered Designs
- Registered Design Applications
- Design Prosecution
- Design Litigation
- Design Enforcement
- Preparation, Drafting and Prosecution of Design Cases
Franchises
- Franchise Agreements
- Licensing Arrangements
- Advice on Franchising Your Business
- Advice on Purchasing a Franchise
- Dispute Resolution Services
- Advice on Consumer Protection Act
Contracts
- Drafting of Contractual Agreements
- Negotiating Contractual Agreements
- Contractual Disputes and Litigation
For more information on our International Intellectual Property services, please visit the Smit & Van Wyk International Intellectual Property website. www.smitvanwyk.com
- Recommend on Facebook
- Share on Linkedin
- Tweet about it
- Buzz it up
- Print for later
- Tell a friend
