Concepts generated should be patented, registered or copyrighted where possible. Whether it is the design of a ring, the invention of a bio-diesel engine, a logo, music, and art or writing, do not fail to apply for applicable rights.
Since intellectual property is used as the umbrella term for patents, designs, logos, copyright, trademarks, and brand names, people often think that one set of rules govern all of the above. The truth is that concepts generated can fall in any of the above categories and more often than not, the lines become blurry.
To ensure that you don’t waste your time in filing an incorrect application, you should make use of the expertise as offered by intellectual property lawyers. In South Africa for instance, you are not required to register copyright, although the protection stays in place.
If you are a jeweller however, you would want to register the designs to ensure that they are not copied. Without registration you will have no rights to exclusivity. This also applies to the other areas such as patent rights and trademarks. Further sub-categories make it even more complicated as you can for instance get:
- Registered designs based on function.
- Registered designs based on appearance.
Knowing when something can be patented and when the concepts generated fall under copyright protection will help to ensure that you don’t disclose information just to find out that the ideas cannot be patented because of prior disclosure.
This is the type of information that is available from our website. In addition, we have an expert team of intellectual property lawyers to assist you in registering the concepts generated under the applicable categories.
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