Find an intellectual property attorney in South Africa: trade mark registration and opposition, copyright, patents, designs, licensing and infringement.
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An intellectual property attorney protects and enforces what a business creates: registering and defending trade marks at CIPC, advising on copyright in software, content, music and designs, drafting licences and assignments, handling domain name disputes, and acting in infringement and passing-off proceedings. Patents and registered designs are handled by patent attorneys, who hold an additional qualification.
Trade mark filings are usually quoted per mark per class as a fixed fee, including the CIPC official fee. Searches, oppositions, licences and litigation are hourly. Patent drafting and prosecution is specialist work with fees to match. Ask for the written estimate the Legal Practice Act requires and for the renewal dates you will need to diarise.
General information about South African law and practice, not advice on your matter. The practitioners listed on this page give that advice.
File an application at the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission in the classes of goods or services you use or intend to use. The examiner considers whether the mark is distinctive and not confusingly similar to earlier marks; if accepted it is advertised for opposition and then registered. Registration lasts ten years and can be renewed indefinitely. The process commonly takes two years or more.
No, except for cinematograph films. Copyright arises automatically when an original work is reduced to material form, and belongs to the author or, for work done in the course of employment, to the employer. Keeping dated drafts and using a copyright notice help prove ownership if a dispute arises.
An idea as such cannot be patented; an invention that is new, inventive and capable of being used in trade, industry or agriculture can. Disclosing the invention publicly before filing destroys novelty, so file first or use a non-disclosure agreement. Only a registered patent attorney may act for others in patent matters in South Africa.
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