CIPC | Companies and Intellectual Property Commission
February 27, 2012
Intellectual Property Information, Intellectual Property News
Notification from the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC):
The newly formed Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) was established through the amalgamation of the Office of Companies and Intellectual Property Enforcement (OCIPE) and the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO).
All previous CIPRO customers have to verify and update their customer details with the new CIPC.
If you are an existing CIPRO customer verify all details on the CIPC website when you log in for the first time. If you are a new customer, you will have to register with CIPC.
The new CIPC website:
www.cipc.co.za
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CIPC – Companies and Intellectual Property Commission
October 21, 2011
Intellectual Property Information, Intellectual Property News
Companies and Intellectual Property Commission – CIPC
Protecting your intellectual property and elevating your business to new heights
CIPC brings together skills, knowledge and manpower from the Office of…
- Companies and Intellectual Property Enforcement (OCIPE)
- Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO)
CIPC will act independently with a focus on the registration of companies and intellectual property.
CIPC functions will also include education and awareness, investigations, compliance and enforcement.
Contact CIPRO today with your questions, queries or comments. We try our best to offer you the best telephonic support possible.
Main functions of CIPC:
- Registration of Companies, Co-operatives and Intellectual Property Rights (trade marks, patents, designs and copyright) and maintenance thereof
- Disclosure of Information on its business registers
- Promotion of education and awareness of Company and Intellectual Property Law
- Promotion of compliance with relevant legislation
- Efficient and effective enforcement of relevant legislation
- Monitoring compliance with and contraventions of financial reporting standards, and making recommendations thereto to Financial Reporting Standards Council (FRSC)
- Licensing of Business rescue practitioners
- Report, research and advise Minister on matters of national policy relating to company and intellectual property law
CIPC Office Hours – open to the public
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Fridays:
08:00 – 15:30
Thursdays:
08:30 – 15:30
Closed on Saturdays and public holidays
CIPC Contact details
Email
info@cipc.co.za
Address
The Dti campus Block F
77 Meintjies Street
Sunnyside
Pretoria
Customer Contact Centre
Tel:
0861 843 384
International Tel:
27 12 394 9500
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Copyright in South Africa
August 29, 2011
Copyright ©, Intellectual Property Information
Copyright Law in South Africa
Copyright in South Africa are government by the Copyright Act of 1978 and its amendments.
CIPRO and DTI oversee copyright in the country. As a member of the Berne Convention and TRIPS Agreement, copyright works protected in South Africa are also protected in other member states of the above.
Automatic Assignment of Rights
One doesn’t have to register copyright on a work for it to be protected. It is automatically assigned the moment an original creative work takes a tangible form.
Copyright apply to works that have some form of creativity embedded. As such a mere list of facts or data cannot be copyright protected. A grocery list for instance, is not a creative act and thus cannot be protected.
Works Protected
Copyright apply to computer programs, literary works, broadcasts, cinematographic films, artistic expressions such as music, photography, painting, drawing, and sculpting related works, and architectural works, as well as published editions and sound recordings.
With cinematograph films registration is required as such are complex works embedding several other creative works.
Usage Rights
Infringement of copyright can take place when a party copies, uses, sells, rents out, imports or disposes, stores and makes available copyright protected works in a manner not authorised by the copyright holder.
One can get usage and selling rights on a work through a license agreement. It is important to note that such rights can range from master reseller to mere usage rights. Royalties are paid to the copyright holder for such usage.
Copyright normally have lifespans of 50 years from a specific date and differ according to the work in question. In terms of for instance, a literary work, the duration is 50 years after the death of the original author.
One must also note that although a person can be the creator of the work, copyright can be assigned to another.
Contact us for legal guidance regarding copyright protection in South Africa and abroad.
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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
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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…
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Gauteng Trademark Attorneys
March 19, 2010
Trade Marks ™ ®
Don’t fall into the trap of building a brand and investing thousands to millions without registering a trademark for your company name.
The Smit & Van Wyk Gauteng trademark attorneys can assist. It should be noted that if a product is trademarked, it doesn’t mean that your company name will also automatically be trademarked. A trademark registration must be done for every item, logo, slogan, title, domain name, and business name for which you want exclusive usage rights.
Registering the company name at CIPRO doesn’t protect it against the usage from another party.
You need trademark registration for exclusivity. If you want help with the process contact the experienced team of Gauteng trademark attorneys at Smit & Van Wyk.
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