Patents are effectively a social contract. In exchange for you revealing your invention to the public so they can replicate it, you get a time-limited monopoly on that invention. Renewals are there to ensure that monopolies are not left in place if they are not commercially...
Continue ReadingThis is not advisable. I have been a patent professional for 20 years, and the self-filed applications I have dealt with have not once met the requirements for a valid and commercially useful patent, often resulting in a loss of patent rights. The trouble is...
Continue ReadingLet's say I have an idea but know next to nothing on how to execute it. Hence, I would need either collaborators or people who can guide or advise me on what to do. What will stop them from stealing my idea and doing it...
Continue ReadingDesigns can be registered for shapes or configurations of articles or patterns or ornamentation applied to articles. Some examples are jewellery design, vacuum cleaners, furniture, toys, footwear, textiles, clothing and the shape of a new car headlight. Design registration is recommended for all important and...
Continue ReadingPatents protect inventions and innovations. The invention or innovation does not have to be ground-breaking to be protectable by a patent. However, it must at least be an improvement on what has come before. The subject matter of a patent must also be new. For example,...
Continue ReadingTrade marks can refer to registered or unregistered trade marks. When I refer to trade marks in this book, I am mostly referring to registered trade marks. Unregistered trade marks have many disadvantages, as set out later in this book. The main one being that a...
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