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product or process. For peace of mind, the inventor can make use of the services of a qualified patent attorney to investigate the existence of previous patent specifications that relate to the relevant invention. This procedure, although expensive, may negate possible future litigation procedures and unnecessary financial expenses. It is crucial that an international patent search should be conducted, especially if an inventor wants to commercialize a product or process in foreign countries. The same applies to a patentee, who wants to commercialize an invention and who does not want to infringe someone else’s patent. A search should then be conducted at the South
African Patent Office. An online search system is currently available at
198:, though the range of searchable fields is somewhat limited compared to other national patent search systems, and, as of the present writing (26 July 2013), the document retrieval system only returns empty documents. Searches can also be carried out by hand at the Patent Office through a card-based system; however, electronic patent searches may be performed on a contract basis on proprietary systems such as the Electronic Patent Journal (EPJ).
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144:. Essentially, this new product or process has to represent a new way of doing things or has to provide a technical solution to a real-life industrial problem. An invention is only considered to be new and based on an inventive step if the same idea has not been expressed in writing, orally or practically, or in any other way, anywhere immediately prior to the
185:
locally for three months, and forms the basis for a complete patent application and foreign patent applications. Once the invention has been fully developed and tested, a fresh patent application, with complete specification, is filed. If the product or process has already been technically finalized from the start, only a complete specification is lodged.
172:. It is essential that the content of the patent specification - referring to the definition and description of the invention - is clear, coherent, and concise so that the patent is assured the maximum protection. Protection is granted for twenty years from the filing date of the non-provisional patent application.
247:
should be consulted when examining a South
African application. This will indicate whether the PCT International Specification as filed and as published should be amended when filing a South African application. Importantly, such a step lessens the possibility that a South African patent, which may
206:
Section 25 of the South
African Patent Act, Act 57 of 1978, specifies that a patentable invention includes new inventions in the fields of trade and industry or agriculture. However, this act excludes new discoveries; new scientific theories; new mathematical methods; new schemes, rules or methods
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applies for a patent, the application is accompanied by a provisional or complete specification. A provisional specification is lodged at CIPC if the inventor is still testing or developing the product or process. The provisional specification affords temporary protection for 12 months, extendible
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The responsibility for ensuring that the application is valid resides with the applicant. South Africa is a non-examining country. This means that CIPC does not investigate the novelty or inventive merit of the invention - only the form of documentation is verified and not the substance of the
211:; and presentation of information. Even if an inventor’s product or process falls within the scope of the excluded categories, patent attorneys may be able to draft the patent specification in such a manner that the invention gets legal protection.
223:(PCT). This means that South Africans are able to file both national and international applications. This is in line with the supranational recognition of intellectual property restrictions within the context of
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239:, e.g. Europe, the United States, Japan, and Australia. However, South Africa's inventive step requirements differ from some of these countries. Consequently, the
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that are filed within the
Republic of South Africa. An individual can privately file a provisional patent application. However, only a
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can file a non-provisional patent application and assist in drafting the patent specification; see
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57 of 1978, the
Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) is the custodian of all new
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South
African criteria for the originality of an invention are analogous to those of most of the
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be granted on the application, will be deemed invalid on the grounds of lack of inventive step.
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As is the case in many other countries, a patent provides legal protection for a
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for performing mental acts, playing games or doing business; new
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245:International Preliminary Examination Report
51:introducing citations to additional sources
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41:Relevant discussion may be found on the
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579:Marine Living Resources Act, 18 of 1998
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176:Provisional and complete specification
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704:Democratic Republic of the Congo
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34:relies largely or entirely on a
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275:. 6 August 2003. Archived from
16:Regulates patents of inventions
196:http://patentsearch.cipc.co.za
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170:Patent attorney: South Africa
62:"South African patent system"
241:International Search Report
116:South African patent system
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533:Chapter nine institutions
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221:Patent Cooperation Treaty
215:Patent Cooperation Treaty
689:Central African Republic
158:South African Patent Act
135:industrially applicable
118:is the system by which
1033:Patent law by country
849:SĂŁo TomĂ© and PrĂncipe
709:Republic of the Congo
636:Patent law in Africa
392:Legal interpretation
202:Patentable invention
47:improve this article
924:States with limited
548:Internet censorship
538:Freedom of religion
333:Law of South Africa
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162:patent applications
382:Criminal procedure
367:Administrative law
362:Constitutional law
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36:single source
32:This article
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999:Saint Helena
970:
874:South Africa
864:Sierra Leone
669:Burkina Faso
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558:Prostitution
543:Human rights
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410:Areas of law
377:Criminal law
347:Constitution
281:. Retrieved
277:the original
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879:South Sudan
769:Ivory Coast
553:LGBT rights
482:Nationality
283:7 September
237:First World
1027:Categories
981:(Portugal)
939:Somaliland
859:Seychelles
824:Mozambique
809:Mauritania
794:Madagascar
749:The Gambia
684:Cape Verde
507:Succession
462:Insolvency
252:References
73:newspapers
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467:Insurance
432:Copyright
138:invention
43:talk page
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596:Category
528:Cannabis
523:Abortion
497:Property
457:Firearms
447:Evidence
427:Contract
357:Statutes
243:and the
182:inventor
990:RĂ©union
986:Mayotte
977:Madeira
972:(Spain)
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729:Eritrea
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422:Company
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719:Egypt
659:Benin
477:Lease
94:JSTOR
80:books
894:Togo
804:Mali
694:Chad
502:Sale
340:Main
285:2020
133:and
114:The
66:news
131:new
49:by
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