About us

Aim

IdeaNav helps inventors protect their ideas and convert them into working prototypes.

Who we are

IdeaNav was formed in 2007 and includes:

Patent Attorneys / Directors:
Anthony van Zantwijk (BSc(Civ)Eng, LLB, LLM(Tax)),

McLean Sibanda (MSc(Met)Eng, LLB, LLM-Commercial, PhD)

Paulo Lopes (MSc(Mech)Eng, LLB, HDip(Tax))

Trademark Attorney:
Taya Lombard (LLB)

Industrial Designer:
Stefan

Assistant: Lesley Mackell.

The company was spun out of Sibanda & Zantwijk Patent Attorneys (a firm specialising in intellectual property commercialisation).

Why us?

• Our patent attorneys used to work at one of South Africa’s biggest patent firms, Spoor and Fisher.
• We have successfully prototyped many inventions, which are now in the market.
• We offer a complete range of intellectual property commercialisation services to clients including Anglo American, De Beers, Sasol, SARS and the SA Reserve Bank.

We will take your idea further than any other South African patent firm.

Pricing

We offer the most affordable patent and design services without compromising quality.

We have discarded the industry-standard hourly-rate billing model and substituted it with a fixed, transparent pricing policy that inventors can budget on.

Independence and objectivity

To protect our independence and objectivity, IdeaNav refuses to accept or offer referral payments. All referrals are motivated by value to the inventor instead of relationships or reciprocity.

Software

We embrace online systems that reduce the cost to file and prosecute patents, trademarks and designs to grant. In this regard, we work closely with GlobalIPCo – a software company that develops: IP management systems (that we use to file and report on applications); and online filing systems (for which we are the exclusive South African agent).

Our online patent, trademark and design renewal system is also popular among multinational companies to reduce their cost of holding patents.