NMA-IP

SEARCHES

SOUTH AFRICAN FILINGS

INTERNATIONAL FILINGS

RECORDALS OF CHANGE

ASSIGNMENTS

RENEWALS

TRADE MARK PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

TRADE MARK LITIGATION

PATENTS

DESIGNS

COMMERCIALIZATION OF IP

Before registering a Trade Mark, a pre -filing search of the South African Trade Marks register is recommended to ascertain whether the mark is available and that there are no identical or similar third party marks on the register of Trade Marks which would pose a threat to obtaining registration.

SEARCHES

SOUTH AFRICAN FILINGS

The registration process commences by filing an application for the trade mark in the relevant class. After filing the application, the mark will be examined for formal requirements and prior conflicting marks. If accepted, the Registrar will issue a notice of acceptance and the trade mark application will be published in the Patent Journal. The application will be open to opposition for a period of 3 months. If no opposition is entered, the Registrar will issue the registration certificate.

Trade marks are territorial in nature and must be filed in each country where protection is sought. We offer Intellectual Property Services, including trade mark protection, all through the African continent as well as other international countries via our network of global agents.

INTERNATIONAL FILINGS

RECORDALS OF CHANGE

Our firm can assist with recordals of various changes on the South African Trade Marks Register.

An assignment refers to the transfer of ownership of IP rights from one entity to another. An assignment must be recorded on the Trade Mark Register, in order for that assignment to be valid with regards to third parties. We are able to assist with preparing the documentation as well as attending to the recordal of Assignment at the Trade Marks Office.

ASSIGNMENTS

RENEWALS

A Trade Mark can be renewed indefinitely for successive periods of 10 years, upon payment of the prescribed renewal fees. The lifespan of a Trade Mark can therefore be indefinite, provided that the mark is being used and that it is renewed every 10 years.

The firm has a high rated intellectual property rights’ software management system, LAW FIRM PRACTICE which allows it to effectively manage and administer multiple clients’ portfolios both locally and internationally. Consequently, the firm has capacity to take on significantly more local as well as foreign agency portfolios.

TRADE MARK PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

TRADE MARK LITIGATION

Our firm can provide assistance with Trade Mark infringement matters, Unlawful competition, Passing-off and Cancellation (expungement of trade mark) proceedings.

“Patent law is the branch of intellectual property law that deals with new inventions. ... Once granted, a patent gives the inventors the exclusive right to sell their invention for a period of 20 years. At times inventors give other companies a license to manufacture and sell the invention in exchange for payment.”

PATENTS

DESIGNS

“Registered designs are there to protect the design of an article. A registered design serves to protect novel, original three-dimensional features of articles intended to be multiplied by an industrial process, such as the shape of the article, or two dimensional features, such as patterns, lines or color of the article, which, when applied to the article gives the article a unique appearance, without regard for artistic or aesthetic merit.”

COPYRIGHT

COMMERCIALIZATION OF IP

• IP portfolio management and advisory
• Offshore IP structuring and advisory
• Trade mark commercialization
• Copyright commercialization
• Domain name commercialization
• Design and patents commercialization

Our Services