The International Design Alliance – IDA
October 26, 2011
Registered Designs
The IDA (International Design Alliance) is a venture between the international organizations that represent design and aim to bring the benefits of design to world bodies, governments, business and society.
The International Design Alliance was created by founding partners ICSID and Icograda.
In 2008 the IDA also welcomed the International Federation of Interior Architects / Designers (IFI) to the alliance as a partner.
The International Design Alliance serve as the collective voice of design and stimulate innovation through multidisciplinary design collaboration.
The IDA promote the mutual interest of all design professions.
The International Design Alliance (IDA) is governed by the IDA Executive Committee, which consists of nine members.
The ISCID (International Council of Societies of Industrial Design) is a non-profit organisation that protects and promotes the interests of the profession of industrial design.
In October 2011 at the International Design Alliance (IDA) Congress in Taipei, the World Design Capital for 2014 title was awarded to Cape Town.
World Design Capital for 2014 << Read more
GalaxyTablet sales block in Australia
October 13, 2011
Intellectual Property News, Patents, Registered Designs
Image source: bbc.co.uk
October 2011 – An Australian court has temporarily banned the sale of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia.
Apple is currently busy with a global patent and design dispute with Samsung accusing them of copying their touch-screen technology and desgn for the Galaxy Tab 10.1.
This patent and design infringement dispute between Apple and Samsung is currently in 9 countries.
Samsung is one of Apple‘s biggest compettors in smartphones and tablets.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 could miss this Christmas season.
Apple has already won a victory in Germany which is Europe’s biggest economy. Germany courts banned the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Samsung is currently trying to stop the sale of the Apple iPhone 4S in France and Italy, accusing them odesign and patent infringement including the 3D transmission patents.
Apple wins Samsung battle in German Court
September 14, 2011
Registered Designs
Image source: devicemag.com
Apple is officially the only company that can make and sell minimalist rectangular tablets in Germany.
A trade court in Dusseldorf, Germany has found Samsung guilty of violating Apple’s patented iPad design.
Presiding Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann remarked upon delivering the verdict that Apple’s minimalistic design isn’t the only technical solution to make a tablet computer, and that other designs are possible.”
Apple filed a patent on the design of the iPad with European Union intellectual property agency in Alicante, Spain.
The iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 rectangular faces are different and the Samsung device has no physical face buttons, but Apple owns sole rights to “minimalist” tablet designs.
According to the patent
- A “minimalist” design is any thin rectangular tablet, with few buttons on its face.
- This ruling indicates that Apple has sole rights to make thin rectangular tablets in Germany.
Competitors would have to
- Have plenty of physical buttons on the face
- Be thicker or heavier than the iPad
- Any shape but rectangular
The German court made it clear that the ruling was based solely on the design and had nothing to do with trademarks or patents for technology.
Samsung is seeking an expedited appeal in Oberlandesgericht, Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court, that could take 2 to 6 months.
Design Rights
September 6, 2011
Registered Designs
Registered Design Rights in South Africa
Design rights refer to the intellectual property rights associated with the shape, patterns, and configuration of an item, combination of texture, shape and patterns as well as ornamentation associated with an item. Such rights become enforceable by law upon registration.
Record Keeping
It is important to keep certified copies of the documents giving your design rights to an item, as well as any drawings or photos which you have submitted for the registration of the rights on the item.
Registered Design Types
Design rights in South Africa are governed by the regulations of the Design Rights Act No. 195 of 1993 which protects the appearance of an item. There are two types in existence in South Africa:
Functional & Aesthetic Designs
A functional right protects the function related qualities of an item as pertaining to appearance whereas the aesthetic right protects the ornamentation qualities of the item’s appearance.
It is possible to also gain protection on a two dimensional design, which in such a case, may also be protected under the copyright laws of the country.
One can apply for both types; provided the requirements are met and separate applications are completed.
Since design rights are often overlapped by copyright, trademark and patent rights, it is possible to register any of the above intellectual property rights on an item in addition to the design protection.
Examples of designs are that of handbags, bottles, jewellery, chairs, cars and more. The owner of such rights is known as the proprietor.
If a person is commissioned to design an item and then paid in full for that item, the ownership on the design can go to the one who has commissioned and paid for such. One of the requirements for design protection is that of originality as applying to an aesthetic design in addition to novelty.
When it comes to a functional design the item must not be commonplace and it must be new. An example of a functional design can be a part of a circuit board.
Contact us at Smit & Van Wyk for professional legal assistance regarding the registration of design rights in South Africa.
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
