March 19, 2010 | Law
Do the South Africa trademark laws extend to domain names on the Internet?
The Internet has opened a whole new minefield for copyright and trademark infringements. The South Africa trademark laws can also be applied to domain names on the Internet, provided that the domain name is a registered trademark. It is not that simple to get a domain name registered as a trademark, but it is possible. You may very well find that your domain infringes on the trademark rights of another domain name owner. If a company such as a soft drink beverage maker has a specific brand associated with its drinks the company may wish to also register their domain as a trademark to prevent any possibilities of another company using a similar name to confuse users. With no regulatory body to enforce the South Africa trademark laws on domain names, many such infringements can take place. If you need help to register your domain name as a trademark, contact our office to ensure that you succeed within the boundaries of South Africa trademark laws.
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March 19, 2010 | Law
Help from South Africa trademark attorneys on the various symbols
You may have seen the TM lettering behind a word written in superscript directly after the slogan, logo or product name. If you apply for trademark rights on a brand, through South Africa trademark attorneys, you will be advised not to use the TM lettering unless the trademark has been awarded. If the trademark has not yet been awarded through means of registration the South Africa trademark attorneys will recommend the usage of R in superscript, within a circle. This symbol is often seen on the Internet where the company will also issue a statement regarding allowable use of their product names and for referencing their product brands. If you need help in registering a trademark, make use of the experienced team of South Africa trademark attorneys at Smit & Van Wyk.
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November 26, 2009 | Patent
While it is important to register your new inventions in order to protect your intellectual property, there are a few basic requirements that an invention need to adhere to according to South African law before you can initiate patent applications.
All patent applications need to be:
New: South Africa has a so-called "absolute" novelty requirement, which implies that any disclosure anywhere in the world before the filing date of a South African patent application will destroy the novelty of your invention, thereby forfeiting your patent rights.
Inventive: Even if your invention is new, there may be other similar inventions that have been disclosed to the public in patent specifications or other literature. It needs to be determined whether your invention is considered obvious or not.
Useful: Abstract inventions with no application in trade, industry or agriculture cannot be the subject of a patent in terms of South African patent law.
Contact Smit & Van Wyk Incorporated for any queries regarding patent applications. We have the knowledge and experience to guide you through the process quickly and efficiently.
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October 9, 2009 | Law
Our charges for conducting trademark registrability searches in South Africa (inclusive of all fees, official expenses and VAT):
Wordmark Search (per mark): R2508
Logo/Device Search (per mark): R2850
See Trademarks | Getting Started for more information on getting started with Trademarks.
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When thinking of a country such as Canada, you may imagine law abiding citizens who care about the rights of others. Even though true, the USA has put Canada on its watch list for lacking appropriate legislation to protect intellectual property on the Internet. Canada together with countries such as Venezuela, Russia, Pakistan, and China have made it to the intellectual property blacklist of the USA, because they have not taken enough steps to protect the intellectual property rights in the digital world. Canada is also accused of not doing enough to prevent the flow of counterfeit products over its borders. South Africa may take a few hints here as well since counterfeit DVD products seem to be readily available on our streets.
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Copyright violations in the form of piracy cost the recording industry of SA more than R500 million a year. This is according to the chief executive of a copyright agency – James Lennox. When looking at the staggering losses because of piracy it is no wonder that the recording industry is up in arms about copyright violations. The penalty for copyright violations in terms of piracy is R5000 per item. Still it doesn’t seem to make a dent in the amount of piracy that takes place. Street vendors sell pirated movies for next to nothing while the cost for the law abiding citizen can be around R150-R300 to purchase the movie, whilst DVD shops have to pay from R300 to R600 for the movie. If you suspect copyright violations in terms of movie piracy take a stand and contact the police and help protect the work of artists.
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Simple as it may seem, but there are numerous court cases every year about trademark infringement in China. The disputes normally arise because the Chinese High Court ruled that for trademark infringement to take place of a trademark registered outside China, that the trademark must be well known in China. This means that the consumer public must recognize the trademark and associate it with a certain brand. It doesn’t help if a company’s trademark is well known in South Africa, USA or Europe. It must be well known in China. Come to think of it – it will be a long and difficult court case if you want to proof that the Chinese public is well acquainted with your trademark. The best remedy to prevent trademark infringement in China is to simply register yours there.
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Music piracy is now more prevalent than ever and with the ease of downloading MP3 and other file formats from pirate websites, millions of consumers are becoming involved and thus guilty of music piracy. It is killing the music industry as artists do not get their royalties due even though their music is listened to by thousands. A music store in Australia was recently investigated by police and the owner has been found guilty of 15 copyright offences including the sale of pirated works. Australia has taken a harsh stand on music piracy and copyright infringement with penalties of up to five years imprisonment and $60 000 fines for individuals. In South Africa the problem is even worse with pirated movies and music being sold on the streets by vendors. As long as there is support the crime will continue. If you suspect music piracy or copyright infringements of your work you should contact Intellectual Property lawyers right away.
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It is not only South Africa that has a problem with counterfeit products. Counterfeit products have become an international problem. E-Bay is for instance, caught up in lawsuits for allegedly not doing enough to prevent the sale of counterfeit products at their website. The problem with counterfeit products is not only on the competitive side where money due to the rightful inventor or trademark holder thus goes to the fraud companies, but also on the consumer side. The consumer is betrayed in the sense that he or she purchases products which are in fact fakes at the same or higher price than what should have been paid for the real deal. In many cases the fake or counterfeit products are inferior and even dangerous especially when it comes to electrical appliances. Consumers are requested to report counterfeit products for the protection of companies and their own safety.
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Patent applicants are well aware of the fact that applying for patent rights in Europe may mean several years wait before applications will be approved. In fact, the average waiting time for European patents at the European Patent Office is about seven years where it will only take about 12 months for an application to be approved in many countries including South Africa. Several suggestions have been made to reduce the backlog one of which has sparked another debate. The suggestion was that instead of applying in various countries such as the UK, you should only need to apply at the EPO. The problem with the suggestion is that it would overload the already heavy laden EPO and cause even further delays. The debate continues, but if you plan to take your patent international the best way would be through an Intellectual Property Attorney such as Smit & Van Wyk that knows the system and thus will ensure that your patent doesn’t get caught up in the system.
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