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It is important to understand the difference amongst the various intellectual property law categories. A patent cannot be registered in the same way as a trademark and the same goes for the design and copyright registration process.
The patent is an invention which can be used in commerce, agriculture or industry. It is useful to society and is not something that is obvious to someone skilled in the particular trade.
To qualify for patent rights, the invention must be unique and novel.
As such no prior publication of information about the invention must be present in trade magazines or journals. There must also be no similarity to any patents registered or applied for in the patents database of the South African Patent Office.
The registration process involves an application form which should be completed and filed at the earliest possible date as this date will be referred to should there be any disputes as to who registered the invention first. In addition it is important that the description of the invention be clear and that all specifications are included.
The drawings must be clear and show exactly how the invention works and of which components it is made. This is a rather technical piece of work and as such professionals such as engineers may need to assist. Fortunately the patent lawyer must also be qualified as a scientist or engineer and will have the expertise or outsource capability to also assist in this part of the process.
If you have an invention and want to register it as a patent, we recommend that you contact our expert lawyers at Smit & Van Wyk for assistance.
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