South Africa patent registrations are encouraged through the Department of Science and Technology. It is hoped that the South Africa patent application level will increase through the Innovation Fund programme. Researchers at several institutions receive funding to register their innovations.
Why go through the trouble of registering inventions?
The idea is to develop a knowledge rich society. About 50% of claims filed for intellectual property rights regarding inventions come from abroad. With the South Africa patent registration level being low, this kind of assistance and encouragement is extremely important.
Get the protection and compensation for your ideas
Without proper registration, inventors cannot file lawsuits for infringements or demand compensation and acknowledgement for their inventions. All the research and work that have gone to develop a concept into a viable product then come to nothing. What should have been an opportunity for profit, then becomes a financial loss.
What is the easiest route?
Making use of patenting lawyers will help to ensure that the application process goes smoothly, that the document description is clear, and that it provides adequate protection for the inventor.
Get ownership or pay foreign companies
Being ranked at the number 39 spot for technological achievement amongst 162 countries by the United Nations, means that the South Africa patent registration level should be improved.
Without registration foreigners can easily take over the domestic market, and instead of benefiting from ownership rights, the capital that would have been used locally, will then be used to purchase products from overseas or for the right to use the patents.
|
