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About this publication

Trademarks, copyright, designs and patents involve different forms of intellectual property rights. In our daily lives, from the music we download, to photographs we post, to goods we buy and products we manufacture, intellectual property is present. However, their laws have terminology and concepts that can be difficult for us to understand.  

This book simplifies the nature, creation, and ownership of these different intellectual property rights. It explains the procedures for registration, and the remedies for enforcement, all in bite-size sections which are easy to read and simple to understand.

Content

Introduction 

• The four key areas of intellectual property 
• Symbols used in the book 
• What is intellectual property? 
• Where did IP originate? 
• The statutes of a country 
• Applying the law 
• What are ‘rights’? 

Trademarks 

• Introduction 
• The Trademarks Register 
• Starting out: choosing your brand name 
• The registration process 
• The proprietor 
• Filing an application for registration 
• Classification: Goods and/or services 
• Processing the trademark application 
• Endorsements 
• Advertisement 
• Opposition 
• Application procedure: Conclusion 
• Trademark renewal 
• Trademark use 
• Expungement based on non-use 
• Expungement: the procedure 
• Trademark enforcement 
• Remedies against infringement 
• Defences to infringement 
• Passing off 
• Licences and assignment 
• Criminal conduct regarding trademarks 

Copyright 

• Introduction 
• What is a work? 
• Originality 
• Representation in a material form 
• Qualified person 
• Who is the author? 
• The period of copyright 
• What are the different kinds of works? 
• What is reproduction? 
• Reproduction and the exclusive rights 
• A concluding comment about the exclusive rights 
• Ownership of copyright 
• Establishing ownership by agreement 
• State-owned copyright 
• Infringement 
• Remedies for infringement 
• Needletime royalties 
• General exemptions from copyright infringement 
• Specific exceptions to copyright infringement 
• Criminal copyright infringement 
• Assignments and licences 
• International copyright 

Designs 

• Introduction 
• What are registrable designs? 
• Filing an application for registration 
• The registration process 
• Proprietorship 
• The article and its class 
• The definitive and explanatory statements 
• Processing the design application 
• Registration 
• Renewal 
• Enforcement 
• Determining infringement 
• What defences are available? 
• Novelty 
• Licences and assignments 
• Criminal conduct relating to designs 

Patents 

• Introduction 
• What is a patent? 
• Patentable inventions 
• Novelty 
• Inventive step — not obvious 
• Prior art searches 
• The Officials 
• Who can apply for a patent? 
• A provisional or complete application 
• The complete specification 
• The procedure for registration 
• Examination 
• Acceptance 
• Maintenance 
• Enforcement 
• Remedies for infringement 
• Defences to alleged infringement 
• Revocation 
• International patents 
• Convention applications 
• The Patent Cooperation Treaty 
• Licences 
• Assignments 
• Criminal conduct regarding patents 

Other Intellectual Property Types 

Index 

Interest / Benefit to

• Tertiary students
• Small business owners
• Managers in medium-sized businesses
• In-house counsel and company secretaries in large businesses
• Legal practitioners
• Accountants
• Engineers
• Entrepreneurs
• Industry bodies and associations
• University, Universities of technology and high school libraries
• Tertiary teaching staff
• Publishers
• Creatives’ guilds, musician unions and photographer associations
• Departments of Science & Technology, Higher Education and Trade, Industry & Competition