Gadget type inventions

If you are one of those people who is always coming up with gadget type inventions, you may be interested in knowing that it may be possible to patent them, especially if the inventions are the types of gadgets that could be useful to other people and haven’t been thought of before. What is a patent though? Well, a patent is a right that is granted by the State to an inventor for a particular invention in return for the inventor disclosing certain details about that invention. This right enables the inventor of this type of gadget to prevent other entities from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention for the duration of the patent, usually 20 years from the date of the first application for a patent. Although a patent gives the inventor the right to prevent others from so using the invention, it does not necessarily give the inventor the right to make or use the invention, for this may be restricted by another patent or under some other law. Gadget type inventions must comply with three conditions in order for them to patentable. They must be:

• Novel – a search must be carried out to ensure that the gadget type invention has never been patented before anywhere in the world.
• Inventive – a person skilled in the field of the invention must not deem it to be obvious.
• Useful – the gadget type invention must be of use to commerce, industry or agriculture

If your gadget type invention complies with these three conditions, it may be worth applying for a patent. In order to apply for a patent in South Africa, the first step is to file an application for a provisional patent. This is done by submitting the prescribed application forms to the patent office at CIPRO (Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office) in Pretoria. This is best done by engaging the services of a patent attorney. Although this application can be made by the inventor without help, it is better to have a patent attorney take care of this process because of the wording of the technical description of the invention, which must be precise for it to be accepted by the patent office. Once filed, the provisional patent is valid for twelve months, during which time the inventor is able to test the market and think about the manufacturing of the gadget. An application for a complete patent must be made before the twelve months elapses, and this application must be drafted and filed by a patent attorney.

Once full patent rights have been granted they are normally valid for a period of 20 years. The rights are regarded under law as property belonging to the owner, and he or she may dispose of them in exactly the same way as any other property. The patent rights to your gadget type invention may be licensed out for the use of others, may be sold, assigned or transferred, mortgaged, given away, or even just abandoned. If you have any queries regarding the patentability of your gadget type invention please get in touch with a patent attorney at our offices.