Medical Sciences Patents

Patent Applications AFRICA

March 1, 2012
Biotechnological Patents, Chemical Sciences Patents, Diagnostics Patents, Genetic Engineering Patents, Inventions, Medical Sciences Patents, Microbiological Sciences Patents, Patents

Smit & Van Wyk, Inc. is an intellectual property law firm that specialize in obtaining and protecting your patent and design rights. Our focus is to provide legal services for intellectual property throughout Africa. We assist overseas agents and individual applicants with patent searches, patent filings, patent renewals and prosecution of patent infringement cases. Smit & Van Wyk, Inc. also provide legal advice on commercial rights attached to patents and designs.

Intellectual property is treated as business assets on the balance sheet and has a monetary value associated with it. It is most likely that your business has already generated intellectual property of value through the creativity of the individuals in the business. Once the intellectual property of a business has been identified, it is possible to protect it by means of registered, unregistered, contractual agreements or non-statutory forms of protection.

Smit & Van Wyk, Inc. patent services for inventions from the following fields Biotechnology, Business Methods, Electrical, Electronic, Mechanical, Mining, Nanotechnology and Software.

• Patent applications, filings and registrations
• Patent novelty search
• Patent maintenance and renewals
• Patent licensing

The Smit & Van Wyk, Inc. head office is located in Pretoria, South Africa providing our international and local clients with patent and design services in most countries on the African continent.

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Patent Protection for my Invention

September 29, 2011
Biotechnological Patents, Chemical Sciences Patents, Diagnostics Patents, Genetic Engineering Patents, Inventions, Medical Sciences Patents, Microbiological Sciences Patents, Patents

Inventions

To protect your rights as the owner of an invention, you need to file a patent application for the invention in each country, where protection is sought.

If your invention is new, inventive and useful, then it might qualify for patent protection.

Always keep the INVENTION a SECRET.

Do not market or sell the invention until a patent application has been filed at the South African Patent Office.

Obtaining a patent is a two-step process spaced 12 months apart.

Patent Applications

The 1st step is to file a provisional patent application for your invention in South Africa. This is done to obtain the earliest possible date from which to claim rights to your invention.

The 2nd step is to file a complete patent application within 12 months of filing the provisional patent application in South Africa, and/or in each country where you wish to obtain patent protection.

Initial steps to Patent your invention

Step 1
Contact the patent attorneys at Smit & Van Wyk, Inc. regarding your invention at enquiries@svw.co.za, or complete the form below.
This is not an official booking, just a contact request.

Any information or images supplied will be protected under the attorney-client privilege with strict confidentiality, whether you decide to continue with the application or not.

Step 2
We will contact you regarding a consultation. This will be done either at our offices in Pretoria or telephonic. We accommodate national and international clients.

Step 3
An optional fixed cost preliminary novelty search can be conducted to find similar or identical patents.

The costs of conducting a fixed cost novelty search in respect of one patent, inclusive of all fees, official expenses and VAT is limited to approximately R 2500.

Step 4
Once you decide to instruct us to proceed with the patenting process, you pay the requested deposit for the patent attorney to start working on a specification for your patent application.

Step 5
The patent attorney will start writing a patent specification for the invention. This could take 2 to 5 weeks, depending on the complexity of your invention. The attorney will then return the specification to you.

Step 6
Once the approval has been given, the patent attorney will submit your provisional patent application at the South African Patent Office in Pretoria.

Once the provisional patent has been submitted, additional steps has to be taken within 12 months to complete the application.

Feel free to contact us should you have questions or require assistance with any patent related matter.

PLEASE NOTE THAT PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE. PRICES ARE ONLY AN INDICATION. PLEASE CONTACT OUR OFFICE FOR A FORMAL QUOTATION.

Contact Details for Smit & Van Wyk:

Tel:
+27 (0) 12 349 7800

Fax:
+27 (0) 86 619 0493

E-mail:
enquiries@svw.co.za

Physical Address / Courier
Block A Apex Corporate Park
Quintin Brand Street
Persequor Technopark
Meiring Naudé Avenue
Pretoria
0184
South Africa

Image source: www.freedigitalphotos.net

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India Generic Drug Infringements

September 8, 2011
Medical Sciences Patents, Patent News

Image source: gpweb.igpublish.com

There have been several seizures of Indian generic drug shipments at European ports that were on route to Latin American.

European countries were detaining Indian generic drugs on charges of counterfeiting and patent infringement.

India blamed European countries for creating trade barriers against Indian drug companies to protect the interests of their firms.

According to European Commission laws, if the drug is not patented either in the country of origin or its final destination, it can be seized.

India stated that an agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) allowed these exports as Europe was not the destination for the generic drugs.

Ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement between the EU and India raised the issue of varying tariff structures in the EU countries.

Both sides have reached a settlement.

The settlement will ensure that none of the 27 members of the economic and trading bloc will detain “Made in India” consignments of generic medicines, which are transiting through EU ports.

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Science Invention Patent

August 30, 2011
Biotechnological Patents, Chemical Sciences Patents, Medical Sciences Patents

Image source: historyking.com

Science Patent Application

A science patent can be awarded if the requirements for patentability have been met. The following cannot qualify for patentability and as such cannot be registered as science patents:

1. Mathematical formulas and scientific theories.
2. Information presentations.
3. Metabolism of organisms.
4. Discoveries of natural phenomena.
5. Methods for doing business.
6. Methods for performing mental acts.
7. Rules for playing games.
8. Computer programs.
9. Biological processes.
10. Medical methods for treatment of humans & animals such as therapies or surgeries.

It is possible to register a science patent in the field of bio-technology or engineering for non-living entities such as DNA, promoters, antibodies present in organisms, vectors and plasmids as well as polypeptides.

One can also register a science patent for living entities in the case of genetically modified plant, organism and animal cultures subject to meeting specific requirements.

It should be noted that genes and various forms of such are still debated and it is recommended that you approach an intellectual property attorney to help you register a science patent in the bio-technology field as it is a rather complicated process.

Our experienced patent attorneys can assist not only with registration of a science patent, but also with legal advice regarding the patentability of matter in this field.

For the filing of a science patent it is also recommended that you file a provisional application as soon as possible to ensure priority date. The patent applications involve detailed descriptions of the inventions, drawings and claims in the case of permanent patent applications.

You will have 12 months from filing the provisional application to file the complete science patent application. During the 12 month period you can further develop such and get a chance to complete the claims.

Contact us at Smit & Van Wyk for expert legal advice and assistance in filing a science patent in South Africa and abroad

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Patricia Bath

August 26, 2011
Medical Sciences Patents

Image source: nlm.nih.gov

Patricia Bath was born in 1942 in the U.S.

She graduated from the Howard University School of Medicine in 1968 and completed specialty training in ophthalmology and corneal transplant.

When Patricia Bath, an ophthalmologist, received her first patent, she became the first African American female doctor to patent a medical invention.

In 1975 she also became the first African-American woman surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center.

This invention patented in 1988 was for a method for removing cataract lenses that transformed eye surgery by using a laser device making the procedure more accurate. She also patented  her inventions in Canada, Japan and Europe.

Patricia Bath had passion and dedication to the treatment and prevention of blindness. It was designed to use the power of a laser to quickly and painlessly vaporize cataracts from patients’ eyes.

She was also able to restore sight to people who had been blind for more than 30 years.

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