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Brian's
Introduction
By
Brian Walsh (Founder & CEO of
Entrepreneur.co.za)
The issue of intellectual property, commonly
known as IP, can be very tricky. I have had the
experience of not registering trademarks, often
forgetting to stipulate copyright, and I didn’t
realise until it was pointed out to me by a
specialist IP lawyer, how dangerous this was.
The fact is that IP is of critical importance to
entrepreneurs.
IP is generally classified as follows:
Copyright
– includes literary works, musical works,
artistic works, cinematographic films, sound
recordings, broadcasts, program-carrying
signals, published editions and computer
programs.
Patents
– this revolves predominantly around inventions.
Design Law
– for the protection of both aesthetic and
functional designs.
Trademarks
- defined as any ‘mark’ that can be represented
graphically. Remedies are provided not only for
the holders of registered rights in South
Africa, but also to certain rights of foreign
trademark owners, even if they are not
registered in South Africa.
Entrepreneur.co.za is fortunate to have Ron
Wheeldon, one of South Africa’s leading IP
experts, as a subject matter expert and regular
information contributor to the site. Ron has
worked in IP for almost 25 years, and has
managed international trademark portfolios for a
number of multi-national companies.
I highly recommend that you read his
Mini-guide to Identifying Intellectual Property
which can be found under the guide section in
Start-up.
"He copied my idea and I want him stopped". So
starts many a conversation between a possible
client and an IP lawyer, and too many of them
end with the sad realisation that the scoundrel
(if scoundrel he be!) cannot be stopped because,
although he may have offended the client's sense
of right and wrong, he has not impinged upon any
legal right of the client. The basic premise of
competition in a capitalist economy such as that
of South Africa, recently reaffirmed in the
Polyoak case, is that everyone is free to
compete, even to the most slavish of copying,
provided one does not trespass on a recognised
right of property.
Extract from
Mini-guide to
Identifying Intellectual Property
by Ron Wheeldon. |
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