Legal FAQ

A trade mark is a form of intellectual property that consists of a recognisable sign, design, or expression. Its purpose is to distinguish and designate ownership of the products or services on which it appears, in addition to distinguishing them from those associated with other competing entities.

In order to protect your intellectual property and ensure that no one else can use your name or emblem as a trade mark. Registering a trade mark is typically your best choice to protect your brand and prevent a third party from utilising your logo or name to conduct business.

A word, phrase, or a logo/device can be registered as a trade mark. One is also able to register a unique colour, shape or sound as a trade mark.

A registered trade mark is protected in perpetuity if renewed every 10 years against payment of the mandatory renewal fee. As long as the mark is used and renewed every ten years it can remain in use permanently.

A trade mark application may take between 18 to 36 months to pass to registration. You will only need to renew your trade mark after 10 years from the day the application was submitted.

Attorney fees and official fees are all subject to exchange rate fluctuations. Costs are typically quoted for a single trade mark and do not include prosecution costs if a third-party objects.

Trade mark registration is national-specific. Registering a mark in South Africa does not grant you protection abroad. Should you wish to market your products in other countries, it would be in your interests to register your trade mark in that country.

A registered design protects the visual appearance of a product — its shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation. Registration gives you the exclusive right to use that appearance in South Africa.

One should register a design to monopolise the design to the exclusion of third parties. An aesthetic design is protected for 15 years and a functional design is protected for 10 years, from date of the filing of the application.

Copyright vests in Literary works (novels, stories, poems, software); Artistic works (paintings, sculptures, drawings, architecture); Musical works; Cinematographic films; and Radio and television broadcasts.

In South Africa only cinematograph films may be registered for copyright protection. For all other works, copyright exists automatically upon creation in a material form.

Any new, inventive step which is industrially applicable can be patented. This includes products, processes, and improvements to existing inventions.

A patent in South Africa lasts for 20 years from the date of filing, subject to the payment of annual renewal fees commencing from the third anniversary of the filing date.