Smit & Van Wyk, Pretoria

Company description

Smit & Van Wyk Intellectual Property law firm serves as a portal to the African continent for many foreign associates and multinational corporations. We act as a patent and trademark agents for the whole African continent (and can assist with OAPI and ARIPO applications). We file trademarks, designs and patent pct applications for our South African clients into foreign markets, while also assisting our foreign clients who wish to file in South Africa or the rest of Africa.

Patents in Africa: Our patent attorneys specialise in the identification, protection, prosecution and enforcement of patents in Africa. Our registered patent attorney’s cover a number of technical disciplines, including: mechanical, electrical, electronic and software engineering as well as biotechnology, life sciences, pharmaceuticals and chemical engineering. A patent is an exclusive right granted by a sovereign state to an inventor for a limited period of time in exchange for the details of that invention. The procedure for granting a patent varies widely between countries according to national laws and international agreements, but a patent application must include claims that define the invention. These claims must meet relevant patentability requirements, such as novelty, usefulness, and non-obviousness. It is highly recommended that your claims be written by a qualified patent attorney or patent agent.

Trademarks in Africa: Our trademark department consists of a team of skilled and qualified trademark attorneys and paralegals who work closely with our clients to build interpersonal relations. A trademark is a mark which distinguishes your goods or services from goods or services of others in South Africa, or anywhere else in the world. Examples of trademarks include: names, slogans, logos, shapes, three-dimensional marks, colours, holograms, motions / multimedia, positions, gestures, olfactory (smells / scents), sounds / tunes, tastes and textures.

• South Africa
• United States
• Canada
• Germany
• China
• United Kingdom
• Angola
• Algeria
• Botswana
• Namibia
• Mozambique
• Malawi
• Egypt
• Tunisia
• Seychelles

• English
• Afrikaans

South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL), Licensing Executive Society (LES), Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA), American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), International Trade Mark Association (INTA), International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI)