Copyright protection can be sought under the Copy Right Act, which allows for the protection of unregistered rights.

When does copyright subsist?

• The work must be reduced to a material form (ie. it must not be an idea) examples are literary works, musical works, artistic works, cinematograph, sound recordings, broadcasts, programs carrying signals, published editions and computer programmes.
• The work has to be original
• The author must at the time of the creation of the work have been a qualified person.
• In certain cases, the work must have been published in the RSA or a convention country.

Trademarks

A Trademark is the manner in which the goods or services of a business are distinguished from similar goods or services offered by the other businesses in that industry. It is important that the trademark be distinctive and should not be confused with trademarks that have already been registered.

There are various grounds contained in the Trademarks Act in terms of which the Registrar may refuse to register a trademark. These need to be thoroughly considered before registration of your particular trademark can be applied for.

Registered Designs

The designs Act provides protection to aesthetic and functional designs through the process of registration. An application for registration must be within six months after the design was made available to the public in the Republic of South Africa or in any other country.

Aesthetic design and registration expires after 15 years and a functional design registration expires after 10 years.

Aesthetic designs must be new, while functional designs must be new and not commonplace.

Patents

The South African patents system is governed by the Patents Act, which affords protection for inventions.

The act defines what an invention is and also describes what the positive requirements for patentability are.

There is a patent office in Pretoria, which is headed by the Registrar of patents. A register is kept of all patents. This register is open foe inspection to the public. In addition there is also a court of the Commissioner of Patents that has been established to resolve disputes in terms of the Act.