How to Apply for a Patent?

September 22, 2011
Patent News and Interesting Facts

Inventions

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

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.

Always remember to KEEP THE INVENTION SECRET and do not market or sell the invention until a patent application has been filed at the South African Patent Office.

Patent Applications

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

The first 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 second 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 protect 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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How to protect my Invention?

September 15, 2011
Patent News and Interesting Facts

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.

Patent Applications

Remember to keep your invention a secret until the patent application has been filed. Do not market, or sell it until a patent application has been filed.

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

The first 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.

Initial steps to protect 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
Patent News and Interesting Facts

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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Local Patent Application Requirements

September 1, 2011
Patent News and Interesting Facts

A local patent refers to the exclusive rights granted by a government or its representative patent office to an inventor for a specific period in exchange for full disclosure of information about the invention to the public.

A local patent is just that – local. It protects the invention against unauthorized usage and commercial gain by other parties.

The holder of a local patent has the right to set up agreements with other parties for usage, marketing, selling, production, and distribution by means of a licensing agreement.

The patent holder will then receive royalties for the above from the other parties. The patent rights holder can also assign the local patent to another party. This entails transferring all rights to another party.

A local patent doesn’t give the patentee the right to use or make and sell the invention, but rather excludes others from doing so regarding the local patent. It can be described as a monopoly right. The lifetime of a local patent is 20 years calculated from the first patent filing date.

If you want the patent to be registered and valid in other countries, thus be a foreign patent, you must file for such through the help of a patent attorney.

The South African Patent Office will not enforce the rights. It is the responsibility of the patentee to enforce the rights and take legal action against other parties who infringe upon his or her local or international patent rights.

To qualify as a local patent, the invention must be novel, thus never disclosed, used or sold anywhere in the world before the first patent filing date. The invention must furthermore be non-obvious to a person skilled in the trade and must involve an inventive step.

Finally it must be useful in agriculture, commerce or industry. Any public disclosure about the invention before the provisional filing date for a local patent will disqualify the invention.

Contact us at Smit & Van Wyk Intellectual Property Attorneys to help you file a local patent application.

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Science Invention Patent

August 30, 2011
Patent News and Interesting Facts

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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