Page 25 - Nexia SAB&T Business in South Africa Guide 2024

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: PATENTS

Definition
An invention is patentable when it is a product or process that is new, involves an
inventive step, or a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution
to a problem.
It must be capable of being used or applied in trade and industry or agriculture,
and must not be specifically excluded from protection as a patent.
Registration
Registered with the South African Registrar of Patents.
SA is one of 148 countries that is a member of the Patent Co-operation Treaty
(PCT). This Treaty allows an individual to file an international application as well as
a national application.
The international application will designate countries in which the applicant seeks
protection. Extra fees are payable for this type of registration.
Length of Protection
A patent can last up to twenty years, provided that it is renewed annually before
the expiration of the third year from the date of filing in SA.
To keep a patent in force, the annual renewal fee must be paid. The patent expires
after twenty years from the date of application.
Rights of Holder
A holder of a patent has the right to exclude others from making, using, exercising,
disposing or importing the invention.
Enforcement and Remedies
Patents Act, 57 of 1978
Remedies include: interdict, damages, delivery up of the infringing product. The
Commissioner of Patents or the High Court deal with disputes.

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