Exploit Patent

If you are in the position of having invented something that is a completely new idea, the chances are high that you may be able to patent it. But how do you go about patenting the invention and, more to the point, once patented how can you exploit that patent? The term "patent" comes from the Latin word patere, which translates as "to lay open" or in other words to make available for public inspection. The term “letters patent” originally denoted royal decrees granting exclusive rights to certain individuals or businesses, and only when you own these letters patent can you exploit them. In order for you to apply for a patent for your invention and exploit it, the first and main thing is that the invention must be novel. That is to say that it must be completely new. In order to establish that the invention has not, in fact, been invented before, you will need to carry out a Novelty Search. This search must be carried out at the Paper Based Disclosure Centre at the CIPRO offices in Pretoria. The search is very painstaking and is best carried out by a patent attorney, who will also be able to also able to carry out searches in the databases and websites of other countries to ensure that the invention really is new.

The first step after carrying out a successful novelty search is to apply for a provisional patent. The filing cost of a provisional patent is a small fee, but it is preferable to have the filing done by a patent attorney, in which case legal fees can be quite expensive. There is no doubt that it is better to make use of a professional who knows exactly what he is doing, for it is easy to slip up in the completion of application forms, which must be precise. Once granted, the patentee can begin to exploit his patent. A full patent can be applied for up to 12 months after the original filing, and this has to be done by an attorney. This time gap is designed to give the inventor time to test his invention in the field.

A patent is granted by the State and gives the patentee the right to exclude all others from making use of his invention in any way without the express permission of the patentee. The patent is legal property, and may be disposed of in the same way as any other property. Once granted, the patentee is required to publish the fact in the Patents Journal, which is published each month by government printers. This allows members of the public the opportunity to lodge objections. If after 3 months, there are no objections, the Patents Registrar will issue a Patent Certificate and the patentee can exploit his patent in any way he chooses. It may be licensed out for the use of others; it may be sold, licensed, assigned or transferred, mortgaged, given away, or even just abandoned. The patentee thus enjoys all of the profit from his invention for the duration of the patent, normally 20 years.