The first thing that comes to mind when reading the term “traffic patent” is that it is related to an invention to regulate vehicle movement on the road. In this instance however, it is used to describe the monitoring of data or packet transfers over a network.
The traffic patent term can thus also be used to refer to a model for monitoring usage of the internet.
As such a web statistics or visitor analysis package will be seen in this light. One example of a traffic patent is that of the registration of intellectual property rights for a system based on the use of a specific model to analyse network traffic.
Why would it be necessary to register such an invention at the Intellectual Property Office?
There are thousands of competitors in the computer technology arena. Not registering the rights to such a network analysis model, will mean that anyone can exploit it for commercial gain or take the main idea as their own.
To get the protection against infringements, full registration is required. Although it may seem adequate to file a claim only in South Africa, you need to know that the Internet and computer worlds are not limited by geographical boundaries. Rather also file for registration at the European Office.
We are here to help you through the process of registering a traffic patent not only in South Africa, but also abroad. Contact our team for guidance and litigation assistance and prevent possible lawsuits by ensuring that the description is complete and without loopholes.
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