Patents

The term "patent" originates from the Latin word patere, which means "to lay open" or to make available for public inspection, and the term letters patent originally denoted royal decrees granting exclusive rights to certain individuals or businesses. And so patents are sets of exclusive rights conferred upon patentees by the State for a fixed period of time in exchange for disclosure to the public certain details of the invention, which must be innovative. These rights do not give the patentee the right to make or use the invention himself, but they do prevent others from using it in any way without first obtaining a license from the inventee. Patents are property rights, and as such they may be sold, licensed, mortgaged, assigned or transferred, given away, or simply abandoned at any time.

Before applying for a patent the inventor needs to establish that his or her invention has not been patented before, in other words must establish that the invention really is new. This involves carrying out a Novelty Search. In South Africa, this is done at CIPRO’s (Companies and Intellectual Properties Registration Office) Paper Based Disclosure Centre in Pretoria. It is strongly advised that the inventor should appoint a patent attorney or agent to carry out this search. This is because the patent attorney is familiar with the system. Once it has been established that the invention really is innovative, then the inventor can proceed to the next step, which is filing for a provisional patent.

The inventor of an invention may apply for a provisional patent himself or herself, and this may or may not be a good idea, depending upon the technical complexity of the invention. The cost of filing is a small fee for a revenue stamp, but one of the requirements is that an applicant must provide a written description of the invention in sufficient detail for a person skilled in the art to make and use that invention. This written description is provided in the patent specification, and is accompanied by drawings that show how the invention is made and how it operates. For these reasons it is advisable to employ the services of a patent attorney to draw up the application. The provisional Patent is valid for 12 months, which time allows the applicant to test both the invention and the marketplace while being protected from being copied.

Within 12 months of obtaining the provisional patent, and if the applicant decides it is worth it, the applicant should apply for a full patent. A patent attorney must draw up this application. A full patent issued by CIPRO is only valid in South Africa. If the applicant seeks protection in other countries then he or she should file for patent protection separately in each of those countries, or through the PCT (Patent Co-operation Treaty) international filing system. Once the full patent is granted the applicant or his/her patent attorney must place an advertisement in the Patent Journal. The patent needs to be renewed annually to avoid it becoming redundant.