Filing a South African design online with CIPC File your own South African design registration online using the GlobalIPCo online design registration system. The GlobalIPCo system: assists you to select the relevant class; prepares forms (D3 and Power of Attorney) to file the South African aesthetic / functional design registration; uploads: photos of your product; … Read more
Mar 18th, 2018South African brand owners can now register their trademarks online. GlobalIPCo’s online system integrates directly with the South African trademarks office (CIPC) and processes trademarks electronically. By fully automating the process, GlobalIPCo is able to offer South African trademark filings for only US$199. The GlobalIPCo trademark registration system: guides brand owners through the filing process … Read more
Feb 22nd, 2018Iptica has launched the best free customisable non-disclosure agreement (NDA) available. It is written in easy-understandable English, but remains watertight. We tested it and could not find any fault. The SuperNDAÂ Free NDA permits a high degree of customisation. It should cover any disclosure you may wish to make. If you require an added layer of … Read more
Feb 17th, 2018Want to mark your new product “Patent Pending”, but struggling to register the patent without funding? It is now possible to get a Patent Pending Number for only US$199 through GlobalIPCo or $99 through Iptica. Also try our Patent Template and provisional patent filing guide. In 2018, GlobalIPCo launched a simple online system that enables … Read more
Jan 28th, 2018Brands are protected by trademark registrations – to protect your brand in the US, you require a US trademark; to protect your brand in South Africa, you require a South African trademark. We can protect your brand in South Africa and throughout the world. WHEN TO FILE: You can register your brand either before or … Read more
Oct 18th, 2017Pay your South African trademark annuity online by credit card using the IdeaNav trademark annuity system . Why pay your trademark annuities through us? You save more than 85% on your trademark annuity cost. All you need is your trademark number. Our system automatically extracts the applicant details, filing date and class. Receive 6 month, 3 month … Read more
Aug 21st, 2017South African trademarks must be renewed every 10 years. Using the IdeaNav online trademark renewal system, renewing a trademark can cost as little as R1,140. Adding your trademark to our renewal system is easy: select “South Africa” as the country input your trademark number click “Search” the system finds your trademark and displays your trademark … Read more
Aug 9th, 2017Protect all your intellectual property (trademarks, patents, designs, copyright and know-how) affordably: Register trademarks To protect your brand (e.g. IBM): Discuss your brand with us over the phone / in a meeting at our Johannesburg offices. We can advise whether your mark is too descriptive (e.g. Johannesburg Clothing Store) or laudatory (e.g. Best Shoes) to … Read more
Jul 31st, 2017Africa is one of the easiest continents in which to file patents. It has a total population of 1.216 billion people – about 10% shy of China’s – and much of this can be covered by only 4 patent filings. Suggested patent filing strategy for Africa Tier 1 countries: Cover Africa’s economic powerhouses – South … Read more
Jul 20th, 2017Say you come up with the best pizza topping combo ever! Can you protect it? No. Why not? For a food recipe to be protected, the new combination of ingredients must yield an unexpected result. For instance, the first Norwegian to make Lutefisk could have patented the process of: salting and drying cod; rehydrating the dried, salted cod for … Read more
Jun 5th, 2017The bristled golf tee known as a BRUSH-T, launched in 2000, has been a great commercial success – many golfers have tried it; nearly all are aware of it. A quick search through the patent databases shows various “knock-off” products have been invented, design registered, and patented: And, many of these “copycat products” are on sale: So, … Read more
May 29th, 2017Board game patent registration Very, very few board games can be protected by patents. Whereas, the US accepts patents for “a method of playing a game”, this category is specifically excluded from being patented in most other countries (including South Africa). Tip: don’t waste time and money patenting your board game. Rather focus on trademarks and designs. … Read more
May 16th, 2017What is an “international patent” A PCT patent is often referred to as an “international patent’. However, this is somewhat of a misnomer, as a PCT patent does not become a “patent”. The PCT patent is a step in a patenting process. The patent process Typically, the patenting process includes the following steps: Patent search … Read more
May 7th, 2017Patents, copyright, designs, trademarks – options A software app can be protected by: A registered trademark – typically, this is the most important category of protection. Think: FACEBOOK, GOOGLE. These companies rely primarily on their trademarks to keep competitors at bay. AÂ patent – very few software apps are patentable. For example: a job site for … Read more
Apr 30th, 2017It is time to protect your new clothing brand. You have decided on your “brand” and created your logo. The next step is to identify the trademark classes in which you should register your brand. This can be confusing, but let us help: The clear frontrunner is: Class 25 – Clothing, footwear and headgear. Hopefully, only … Read more
Apr 19th, 2017