Question 1
Explain the purpose of IP law i.e set out why we have IP law.
The purpose of Intellectual property rights/laws is to protect the content creator’s or
innovator’s idea by allocating and enforcing legal rights to produce and control
corporeal representations of these ideas.
Intellectual property rights are designed to safeguard the private interests of owners
of qualifying intellectual creations however, the intellectual property system is not
unitary, and the variety of exclusive rights it affords need to be weighed against the
public interest in the creation and propagation of ideas, information and knowledge.
Question 2
What is a patent and what are the requirements for a patent?
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a
process that provides a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical
solution to a problem.
Requirements:
All patents are to be registered with the Registrar of Patents at CIPC
(Companies and Intellectual Property Commission).
Details of inventions, along with specifications, agreements and licences, are
kept in a Patent Register (s 10) which can be inspected subject to certain
conditions (s 12) and recorded in a periodic Patent Journal after acceptance (s
14).
The invention must be new, in the sense that it is not “state of the art”at the
time that it is claimed as a new invention (s 25(5)).
Meaning of “state of the art” –something that already exists for use by the public
in oral or written description (s 25(6)).
Explain the purpose of IP law i.e set out why we have IP law.
The purpose of Intellectual property rights/laws is to protect the content creator’s or
innovator’s idea by allocating and enforcing legal rights to produce and control
corporeal representations of these ideas.
Intellectual property rights are designed to safeguard the private interests of owners
of qualifying intellectual creations however, the intellectual property system is not
unitary, and the variety of exclusive rights it affords need to be weighed against the
public interest in the creation and propagation of ideas, information and knowledge.
Question 2
What is a patent and what are the requirements for a patent?
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a
process that provides a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical
solution to a problem.
Requirements:
All patents are to be registered with the Registrar of Patents at CIPC
(Companies and Intellectual Property Commission).
Details of inventions, along with specifications, agreements and licences, are
kept in a Patent Register (s 10) which can be inspected subject to certain
conditions (s 12) and recorded in a periodic Patent Journal after acceptance (s
14).
The invention must be new, in the sense that it is not “state of the art”at the
time that it is claimed as a new invention (s 25(5)).
Meaning of “state of the art” –something that already exists for use by the public
in oral or written description (s 25(6)).
