Agriculture Inventions
Agriculture Patents
Agriculture patents are those inventions which qualify for patentability regarding usage in the agriculture. In South Africa the application process for trade and agriculture patents is the same.
Farmers are regularly excellent inventors simply because they often have limited manpower resources and require more efficient ways of doing things to ensure maximum farming profitability.
As such they invent machines to make for instance, fruit picking easier or develop an item for extraction of plant juice from for instance, Aloe plants.
Unknowingly many farmers jeopardize the possibility of being granted patent rights for their inventions when they disclose the details of the inventions to the public in farming magazines or at agricultural shows.
Since commercial farming is a huge industry in South Africa, it can always benefit from more efficient ways to do things. As such it is important that farmers become informed about the benefits of patenting their inventions and what to do to avoid jeopardizing the chances of getting patent rights for their inventions.
As a general rule of thumb, the farmer should make notes about every aspect of the invention, make relevant rough drafts and drawings, and indicate the dates on the paper.
In addition no disclosure should be made and the invention not used productively until a provisional application regarding agriculture patents has been filed.
It is better to file for a provisional application sooner than later and make improvements to the invention during the twelve month period allowed before the complete application must be filed than to wait until all has been done and then to file a complete application.
This is so because the earliest date of patent application filing is used to determine whether one application is more valid than another should a dispute develop.
Contact us today for complete assistance regarding applications, license agreements, litigation or advice regarding agriculture patents in South Africa.
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