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.

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. 

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.

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

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.