, LML4801 Assignment 2
Semester 2 2025
DUE 18 September 2025
Use this document as a guide and for references to answer your assignment
Patent Infringement and Defences: Pangolin Products (Pty) Ltd v
Graham
Introduction
This question concerns whether Pangolin Products (Pty) Ltd, owned by Megan,
infringes a patent held by Graham, and what defences may be available. The facts
take place in South Africa (Cape Town), so the Patents Act 57 of 1978 applies. A
patent grants the proprietor the right to exclude others from making, using or
disposing of the invention without consent (s 45). Infringement occurs only if the
alleged infringer performs, without authority, all the essential features of at least
one claim of a valid patent.
The Requirements for Patent Infringement
To succeed in an infringement action Graham must show:
1. He holds a valid patent;
2. Pangolin’s process falls within the scope of the claims of the patent; and
3. No statutory defence applies.
Patent claims are interpreted purposively but strictly. The test is whether the
defendant’s process contains each essential integer of the claim, either literally or
by obvious equivalent.
Semester 2 2025
DUE 18 September 2025
Use this document as a guide and for references to answer your assignment
Patent Infringement and Defences: Pangolin Products (Pty) Ltd v
Graham
Introduction
This question concerns whether Pangolin Products (Pty) Ltd, owned by Megan,
infringes a patent held by Graham, and what defences may be available. The facts
take place in South Africa (Cape Town), so the Patents Act 57 of 1978 applies. A
patent grants the proprietor the right to exclude others from making, using or
disposing of the invention without consent (s 45). Infringement occurs only if the
alleged infringer performs, without authority, all the essential features of at least
one claim of a valid patent.
The Requirements for Patent Infringement
To succeed in an infringement action Graham must show:
1. He holds a valid patent;
2. Pangolin’s process falls within the scope of the claims of the patent; and
3. No statutory defence applies.
Patent claims are interpreted purposively but strictly. The test is whether the
defendant’s process contains each essential integer of the claim, either literally or
by obvious equivalent.
