Your inventions, concepts and ideas can be protected from being used by other people without your permission.
Patent attorneys specialize in the laws governing protection of trademarks, designs, copyright and patents, and can advise you on their protection, thus making them valuable assets. Patent attorneys normally have an engineering or science qualification as well as a law degree, and have passed examinations in Intellectual Property Law, thus qualifying them as a Patent Attorney. There are many attorneys who do not have a science or engineering background but who are members of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property (SAIIPL).
Those attorneys that are of the latter group and who specialize in intellectual property other than patents are known as trademark attorneys once they have passed the trade mark practitioners’ examination.
Both groups of attorneys are bound by a code of ethics that are laid down by the Institute. Trademark attorneys can advise you on the protection of your trademarks, brands, logos as well as the laws regulating intellectual property.
To become a trademark attorney, an attorney needs to have passed the appropriate intellectual property examination, in this case the trademark practitioners’ examination.
On passing this examination the candidate is entitled to become a Fellow of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law, and to call him-/herself a trademark attorney.
A trademark can be either a logo, a slogan or a brand name – in the case of Coca Cola it can even be the shape of the bottle. It can be the most valuable asset of a business and it is important that it is adequately protected.
A brand name is a word or combination of words (Kentucky Fried Chicken). A slogan is a short phrase or a sentence (“It’s finger lickin’ good”) and a logo is a distinctive picture or symbol (The Colonel Sanders logo for the same company).
They provide a distinctive identity in the marketplace, and can apply to both products and services. A trademark can only be protected properly in South Africa under the South African Trade Marks Act if it is registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office in Pretoria. Once registered no other company may use that trademark or any other that can be confused with it. Registration of a trademark is valid for ten years, after which time it must be renewed. A trade mark can be renewed indefinitely.
Trademark attorneys will be able to advise you on the selection of trademarks and will carry out searches to ensure there is no conflict with earlier trademarks.
Registration of your trademark offers you several advantages. It establishes your rights to the mark, even before you use it. Registration of your mark will also simplify any infringement proceedings and notifies others of your claim to that mark. Trademark attorneys can also advise you on searching, licensing, technology transfer, setting up joint ventures, copyright protection and litigation in relation to intellectual property.
Please contact any of the intellectual property lawyers at Smit & Van Wyk for specialist advice on all aspects of intellectual property law.
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