If you have a new, unique, and practical idea, one that has not been publicised before, chances are that someone else could steal your idea and use it for commercial gain. Did you know that intellectual property can be protected by the law?

Intellectual property is the legal name given to the protection of ideas. You have the right to prevent others from 'stealing' your ideas and using them for their own commercial gain. There are four Acts of Parliament that have been written to protect your ideas: The Patents Act, The Trademarks Act, The Designs Act and the Copyright Act.

However, the state can take responsibility for registering your ideas through the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration office (CIPRO). Thus the process of registration can be complicated, so you may need to employ professional legal advice.  Furthermore, if you need to go to court to protect your intellectual property rights, you have to do that at your own expense.

There are a number of ways of protecting your intellectual property:

PATENT REGISTRATION

• If you have an invention, you can protect it with a patent. Patent-protection means that the invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed or sold without the owner's consent. This gives the inventor the exclusive right - usually for 20 years - to produce and sell the product.

COPYRIGHT

• When you write a book, paint a picture, compose a piece of music, write a computer programme or create a film or digital recording, you automatically have copyright in your work unless you have been specifically commissioned to produce it for an employer or customer. It is therefore not necessary to apply for copyright (unless the product is a film), but you need to put the words "Copyright", "Copyright Reserved" or "Copyright [Your Name] 2009" on the work. You can also use the copyright sign: "@ [Your Name] 2009".

DESIGN REGISTRATION

• For a design you can register the design of your product to prevent others from copying the shape, form, appearance, pattern, ornamentation or configuration of the item. The registration gives you an exclusive right for 10 years (for aesthetic designs) or 15 years (for functional designs). The registration has to be renewed annually.

TRADEMARK REGISTRATION

• Trademark registration is used to protect your branding, for example your logo. If you've come up with a catchy brand name (like Shoprite), logo (like All star 'the star') or slogan (like 'Hello the future'), you can register it as a trademark. Once you have registered your trademark no-one else may use it or a mark that looks very similar to it. The registration needs to be renewed every ten years.

Sources:

• SEDA
• Capegateway
• Cipro
• SVW
• Decock
• MRC

Last Update: 06 April 2010