If you have a new, inventive, and useful idea, one that has not been made public before,
the chances are that you can protect your idea from being copied and made use of by anyone
else.
The legal name given to the protection of ideas is Intellectual Property, and
intellectual property can be protected by the Law. There are four Acts of Parliament that
have been written to protect your ideas, and these are the Patents Act, The Trademarks Act,
The Designs Act and the Copyright Act. Intellectual Property Attorneys are specialized
legal experts in who are there to advise you on how to go about protecting your ideas.
There are two kinds of intellectual property attorneys in South Africa, Patent Attorneys
and Trademark Attorneys, and both have a qualification from the South African Institute of
Intellectual Property Law. Both types of attorney are bound by a code of ethics that is
administered by the Council of the Institute and are members of that Institute.
Each of the above Acts of Parliament confers a right upon the owner of an idea protecting
the owner against other people from copying or using that idea without the express
permission of the owner. The rights differ in the length of time they last and this depends
on the type of intellectual property in question. Intellectual property attorneys are there
to help utilize and litigate these rights.
There are four different types of intellectual
property under which an idea may be categorized, and the four Acts of Parliament cover
these.
The Patents Act covers new inventions. For an invention to be considered new it must be
shown to have novelty. A so-called prior art search has to be carried out through as many
published records, locally and internationally, to establish that the invention is, in
fact, new. In addition, the invention has to be useful in either trade, industry or
agriculture. If and when granted, a patent is enforceable for a period of twenty years,
provided the annual renewal fees are paid.
As such, a patent is treated much like any other
property and may be sold, leased, licensed or disposed of in any way that the owner
desires.
Trademarks are covered by the Trademarks Act. Trademarks are either logos, slogans or
brand names, and a registered trademark lasts in perpetuity, although it has to be renewed
every ten years. Trademarks can be the single most valuable asset of a company. Examples of
trademarks are the apple logo of Apple Computers, the slogan “Finger licken’ good” of
Kentucky Fried Chicken, with Coca Cola being a good example of a brand name.
Designs protect the “look” of a product and may be divided into two sub-categories, viz.
aesthetic and functional designs. When registered, aesthetic design protection lasts
for 15 years, and functional design protection lasts for 10 years, provided annual renewal
fees are paid.
Another example of intellectual property which is protected by statue is Copyright.
With the exception of cinematographic films, copyright in South Africa, like most other
countries, is a right that does not have to be registered to offer protection.
Copyright
covers works that are creations of the mind, such as musical, literary, and artistic
creations, but can obviously only be protected once they have been reduced to a physical
form such as a novel or music score.
Accordingly, the idea for a novel may not be
copyrighted, but once the idea is but onto paper it is legally the property of the author,
and may only be copied with the express permission of the author. It is also useful to
place the international copyright sign © and the date and name of the author next to any
copyrighted work.
If you have any queries on the subject of intellectual property law, contact Smit & Van
Wyk Intellectual property attorneys. We provide tailor-made advice on patents, trade
marks, designs, and copyright.
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