Patent Attorney Position

September 30, 2011
Patents

Smit & Van Wyk, Inc. intellectual property law firm is looking to recruit a candidate patent attorney.

If you have the following minimum requirements, please follow this link to submit your CV:

Minimum Requirements

1. Engineering Degree (any field) from any leading University (Qualified)
2. Studying towards a Law Degree from any leading University
   
3. Studying towards a Patent Attorney Qualification from the Patent Examination Board

>> Patent Attorney Job Application <<

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Local Patent Application Requirements

September 1, 2011
Inventions, Patent News, Patents

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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How to protect my Invention?

August 17, 2011
Biotechnological Patents, Chemical Sciences Patents, Diagnostics Patents, Genetic Engineering Patents, Inventions, Inventors, Medical Sciences Patents, Microbiological Sciences Patents, Patents

How do I protect my invention? Do I need a patent, trade mark, or copyright?

For public disclosure and protection of an invention, the inventor needs to apply for a patent.

A patent is an exclusive right granted to an inventor for a limited period of time.

A patent application must define the invention as new, non-obvious, useful or industrially applicable.

This exclusive right granted to an inventor prevents others from making, using, selling, or distributing the patented invention without permission.

In most countries, both people and corporate entities may apply for a patent but in the United States only the inventor may apply for a patent.

A written patent application is filed at the relevant patent office by a patent attorney representing the applicant. The person or company filing the application is referred to as the applicant. The applicant may be the inventor or its assignee.

The application contains a description of how to make and use the invention. In some countries there are requirements for providing specific information. Drawings illustrating the invention may also be provided.

The application also includes one or more claims. The claims define what a patent covers or the scope of protection.

After filing the patent application, it is referred to as patent pending. This term does not confer legal protection, and a patent cannot be enforced until granted.

For a patent to be granted and take legal effect, the patent application must meet the requirements of that country. Once a patent is granted it is subject to renewal fees which are payable on a yearly basis.

A patent is not a right to use your invention but right to exclude others from using it.

The patented invention is usually protected for 20 years from the filing date subject to the payment of fees.

Patent rights may be sold, licensed, mortgaged, assigned or transferred, given away, or simply abandoned.

Many inventions are improvements of other inventions that may still be protected by a patent. If an inventor takes an existing, patented design, adds a new feature to make an improvement, and obtains a patent on the improvement, he can only legally build his improved design with permission from the patent holder of the original design.

Will I need an Intellectual Property Attorney?

Filing a patent application is very complex. Patent offices will not assist you in the preparation of applications, however, they do provide you with some instruction and guides. If you are ready conduct any intellectual property activity as a beginner you are strongly advised to contact a registered patent attorney or agent.

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