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Written by Guest User - Friday, 10 September 2010 00:00
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NELSPRUIT - Lowvelders wishing to register a patent, design or trademark, will now be able to do it right here in Mpumalanga, with the recent cooperation agreement between, Du Toit-Smuts & Mathews Phosa Inc, and international intellectual property law specialist, Spoor & Fisher.
This collaboration will offer Lowveld clients access to expertise in intellectual property matters, which will be referred to Spoor & Fisher via Du Toit-Smuts & Mathews Phosa.
Spoor & Fisher specialise in all aspects of IP law with offices in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Europe and
19 African countries.
"The cooperation with an IP specialist like Spoor & Fisher signals the start of a new era for the firm," says Dr Mathews Phosa, chairman of Du Toit-Smuts & Mathews Phosa Inc.
"We have had consistent growth over the years and it has become imperative for us to be able to provide our clients with specialised services in the complex field of intellectual property law. Alignment with a firm like Spoor & Fisher, which over the past few years has been voted by both local and international panels as the top IP firm in South Africa, means our clients can be assured of the very best legal counsel when it comes to protecting their IP," he says.
To this end the two firms, in association with the Lowveld Chamber of Business, this week held a seminar dealing with the value of intellectual property and how to protect it, presented by Mr John McKnight.
Using Mozart as an example, the term IP was explained as creations of the mind. Although Mozart was a musical genius he died penniless as creations of the mind was not considered to be property in those times and thus not protected. Was Mozart alive today, he would have been a millionaire. IP forms part of our everyday lives in the form of trademarks, brands, copyright designs and patents.
Trademarks or brands are the badges that tell the world why a product is different to other similar products. In many cases a trademark of a product has become so popular that the value of the trademark exceeds the value of the buildings, factories and other assets used to produce the product.
The Coca-Cola trademark is rumoured to be an example of this.
Patents protect inventions, designs, the outward appearances of objects and copyright creations of the mind such as music, movies, photographs, computer programmes, drawings, pictures and books.
McKnight explained that in terms of South African legislation, most forms of intellectual property must be registered before they are protected.
Once registered, the trademark is protected in terms of the Trademark Act and the owner of it can stop any party in South Africa from using it or any confusingly similar trademark in relation to the goods or services it was intended for.
For instance, without trademark registration, it will be very difficult for a hotel in Nelspruit with the name Serendipity to stop a guest house in Barberton from using a similar name. Mere registration of the company or close corporation does not automatically protect the trademark.
On the contrary, copyright comes into operation automatically when a work is created, and can be enforced anywhere in the world. If the ©-sign does not appear on the work it does not mean the work has no copyright and using it without permission constitutes copyright infringement.
A series of articles dealing with these requirements were published in Lowvelder on August 13, 20 and 27.
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Written by Peter Doble - Thursday, 02 September 2010 15:45
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 NELSPRUIT - Jobs are high priority in Mpumalanga, one of the country's poorest provinces, and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has pledged to pump up to R150 billion into investment opportunities.
This represents a massive leap from the
R10 billion in the last financial year and shows how seriously the state-owned company takes its role of creating new and maintaining existing jobs.
The earmarked amount is for national use but it is allocated on a first-come basis and will be spread over a five-year period.
IDC regional manager Ms Clara Ramushu said the organisation was working with the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Trade and Industry to identify sectors where the largest number of employment opportunities could be created.
"Our areas of operation are split into 14 separate specialisations and we consider business plans for projects which are seeking a minimum lending of R1 million," explained Ramushu.
Between April 2009 and March 2010,
IDC approved financing in Mpumalanga totaling R359 million - R31,8 million for start-ups, R98 million for expansions, R16,2 million for change of ownership and R213 million for distressed companies.
The priority areas being discussed with politicians and senior officials include the mining, forestry, agricultural and tourism sectors. The IDC is able to take greater risks than private sector investors, often providing unsecured funding and charging lower interest rates than banks. Much of its finance comes in special funds from developed countries such as the European Union and may be targeted at rural areas or women's economic support.
The payback comes in the form of an equity share in the company or project. For example, IDC has a 40 per cent stake in the province's only JSE listed company, York Timbers. But that means it has to share in the bad times as well as the good with job protection becoming a high priority in the Sabie area.
Ramushu said that the IDC has regionally invested more than R1,5 billion - R800 million in mining - creating close to 12 000 jobs. "There is still scope for the smaller BEE business in minerals mining such as granite, while there is a need for investment in areas such as food and beverages, wood products, downstream chemical products and crafts," she said.
"Many nature reserves and game lodges are undeveloped for tourism, there is a need for school and college infrastructure, hospital clinic and medical equipment facilities and a continuous demand for shopping centres."
Ramushu felt that restituted land claimants could also benefit from "someone to run with them."
"We currently have 400 local cases of restituted farms but once the land payment has been granted, what happens next?" she questioned. "Most claimants have no experience of practically running a farm or the capital to invest. They need skills, support and education."
It is a similar challenge that faces all small and medium enterprises. Lack of entrepreneurial, managerial and marketing skills, lack of accessibility to knowledge and information and investment support is a common issue which is addressed by special departments at the IDC head office in Sandton.
The regional office is even considered a little distant for some users and Ramushu has been tasked with opening two satellite offices by the end of March 2011.
On a national level, a two year feasibility study is underway for a steel plant to increase competition and IDC management is exploring potential partners from China and India.
The overall focus is on sectors identified in the government's second industrial policy action plan, such as green energy and maximisation of mineral sources which are receiving the lion's share of new funding approvals.
The difficult economic conditions resulting from the credit crunch saw IDC revenues and profits drop by up to 60 per cent in the last financial year. R1,4 billion of the R9,4 billion approved funding went to assist 88 distressed companies, saving 8 800 jobs.
Some business critics believe that the IDC's idealistic approach is too lenient and, unlike the hard-edged commercial institutions, it is more concerned with shoring up lame ducks, backing shaky start-ups and promoting the BEE agenda.
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