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The Supreme Court of Appeal lays down the law on patent claim construction in SA - or does it?
A previous judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) relating to the same patent and registered design, but having different parties and a different infringing article, was referred to in the present matter as the Flag & Flagpole case. It had a bearing on the judgment in the present case, in which the appellants appealed against the orders of the Court of the Commissioner of Patents and the High Court, which had sat as one Court of first instance. It had held that the respondent’s South African patent had been infringed by a flag construction, illustrated as follows: |
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D W Zietsman v Electronic Media Network Limited Others
The Supreme Court of Appeal today upheld an appeal against a judgment in the Court of the Commissioner of Patents in terms of which that court ordered a plaintiff who is resident in South Africa to provide security for the costs of three of the defendants. |
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The London Agreement Ratified!
In Europe, the grant of a patent is not the end of the road for inventors. The patent specification must be translated into the official language of each country in which protection for the invention is sought. Failure to translate the patent specification within a certain period will result in the European patent being deemed to be “void ab initio in that State”. This procedure results in high translation costs and may reduce incentives to apply for a European patent. |
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Patent Prosecution Highway leads to quicker grant of US, Japanese patents
The United Stated Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) recently announced implementation of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), effective from 4 January 2008. According to a spokesperson at the JPO this decision follows after a pilot feasibility study of the PPH showed that the PPH streamlines patent prosecution and results in quicker grant of patents. |
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Intellectual Property speaking
For an invention to be patented, beside being new it must not encourage offensive or immoral behaviour.
Published in Financial Mail November 30, 2007 |
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New support for the WTO Biodiversity Amendment
The World Trade Organisation Council on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) held its meeting on the 23rd and 24th October 2007. At the meeting, a proposal to amend TRIPS to include a requirement to disclose the origin of genetic resources in patent applications, gained new support. |
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New bill to regulate tax on intellectual property transfers
South Africa's draft Revenue Laws Amendment Bill, released for comment in September, includes provisions designed to increase the difficulty of transferring intellectual property to other countries, especially those with lower tax regimes. |
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New US patent rules blocked
A preliminary injunction was granted recently against a set of controversial new rules from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). |
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US patent law to change drastically
The US House of Representatives recently approved the first major overhaul of US patent law in more than 50 years. Patents will be harder to get, easier to challenge, and penalties for violating them will be reduced. |
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Insurance needed against insurance patents
The question of patents for non-technical subject matter is once again hitting the headlines in the USA. Bancorp Services LLC is sueing Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. for infringing a patent for a system that administers and tracks the values of insurance policies in separate accounts (U.S. Patent No. 7,249,037). Bancorp filed suit the same day that the patent issued. |
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Congratulations: William Modisakeng - PhD
Congratulations to William on receiving his PhD in Biochemistry from Rhodes University. |
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Regional Patent applications in Africa
ARIPO is for certain English-speaking African countries. The member countries are Botswana, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. |
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South Africa is a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty
South African nationals or residents are able to use the PCT filing procedure for international applications filed in South Africa or elsewhere. |
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Payment of South African renewal fee
In the light of this statement, an application was brought by the University of Pretoria, Adams & Adams and the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law in which the Registrar of Patents was the Respondent, in respect of the University of Pretoria's Patent No. 94/0252 for a declaratory order effectively asking that it be ordered that an extension of time for late paying of renewal fees can be made in the six-month "grace" period after the normal due date. |
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Update on the new Swaziland Patents & Designs Act
On 10 June 1999, certain of our partners met with the Swaziland Registrar of Patents, who confirmed that the new Act to be implemented shortly is the one that was passed on 19 December 1997 (Act 6 of 1997) and which is very similar to the new Botswana Act in its original, unamended form. |
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The firm practises directly in several Southern African countries and through long-established associates in others.
