What is a Patent? A patent is a form of intellectual property that offers patent owners exclusive rights to use and exploit their invention. Once the owner of an invention has been granted a patent in any particular country, they then have the legal authority to exclude others from using or exploiting the invention in that [...]
Patents protect inventions, how they work, what they do, what they are made of and how they are made. A Patent gives the owner the right to prevent others from exploiting their invention without permission. Your invention can be exploited by others who copy, make, use, import or sell your invention. A Patent is also [...]
What are Patent Trolls? Patent trolls are people or companies that own patents portfolios and simply license the patents to other entities rather than produce the products themselves, and then they usually sue companies that do not agree to their licensing terms. Patent trolls include a party that does one or more of the following: [...]
A 17 year old South African matriculant won the 1st prize at the international science expo in Pittsburgh, U.S. The prize included R17 000 and an invitation from the American Dental Association to return to the U.S. to patent the invention. Chené Mostert from Hoërskool Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal invented a sterilization appliance for toothbrushes after she tested [...]
A South African patent may be granted for an invention that is new (novel), inventive and useful. Novelty can never be determined conclusively, but an indication of the novelty of your invention may be found by conducting a patent search. South Africa has a an absolute novelty requirement, which means that disclosure of the invention [...]
Eugene Polley, inventor of the wireless remote control has died of natural causes at the age of 96. His 1955 invention called the Flash-Matic forever changed the way consumers would watch television. His death was announced by the Zenith Electronics Corporation, where he began his career in the stockroom before rising through the engineering ranks. [...]
Is it possible to patent food recipes in South Africa? The South African Patents Act does not reject recipes for patent protection, but recipes must be subject to the provisions of the Act. The recipe has to be new, involve an inventive step and be capable of being used in trade, industry or agriculture. Click [...]
In 1917 Electrical engineer Gideon Sundback invented the zipper. He was born on 24 April 1880. When he finished his studies in Sweden, he moved to Germany and studied at the polytechnic school in Bingen am Rhein where he took his engineer exam. In 1905 Gideon Sundback emigrated to the United States. Gideon Sundback worked [...]
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