A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention. This invention can be a product or a process that provides a new way of doing something or offer a new technical solution to a problem. In short, a patent provides protection for the invention to the owner. A patent can also be described as a document which gives you the right to stop other people from making, copying, using or selling your invention.
Patents provide protection of an invention of any new and useful art, process, machine, manufactured or composition of matter; or any new and useful improvement thereof; which can be used or applied in trade or industry; and which is not known or used by others, and not patented or described in any printed publication in Namibia or any other country.
Examples of products that have been patented are: flat iron, ball point pens and seat belts.
In Namibia patent registrations are protected under the Industrial Property Act 1 of 2012, which has been enacted on 1 August 2018.
Institutions responsible for granting patents:
A patent provides protection to an inventor for a new product or process for a duration of 20 years in return for the disclosure of the invention. It is renewed annually from the first anniversary of filing until the 20th anniversary of filing. It is important to pay an annual renewal fee to keep it in force. The patent expires after 20 years.
It is important that you apply for a patent before you make your invention available to the public, in order to protect its novelty.
Patents provide incentives to individuals by recognising their creativity and offering the possibility of material reward for their marketable inventions. These incentives encourage innovation, which in turn enhances the quality of human life.
Patent protection ensures that an invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed or sold without the patent owner’s consent. Patent rights are usually enforced in courts who, in most systems, hold the authority to prohibit patent infringement. Conversely, a court can also declare a patent invalid upon a successful challenge by a third party.
You can apply for a patent if you have created an invention. An invention is something that is unique, not obvious, and capable of being manufactured by an industrial process. If you want to protect your invention from being copied, you have to apply for protection of your patent.
The person who created the invention (the inventor) can apply for a patent. The inventor can also nominate a person or a company to apply for the patent protection. You cannot patent an idea if you have seen it somewhere else. It must be original and unique.
For inventions to be patentable it must meet the following important criteria: novelty, an inventive step, be practically viable and conform to natural and statutory laws.
Excluded from patentability are the following:
A patent owner has the right to decide who may – or may not – use the patented invention for the period during which it is protected. Patent owners may give permissions to, or license other parties to use their inventions on mutually agreed terms. Owners may also sell their invention rights to someone else, who then becomes the new owner of the patent. Once a patent expires, protection ends and the invention enters the public domain. The owner no longer holds exclusive rights to the invention, and it becomes available for commercial exploitation by others.
Patent application for an invention must be made in writing, citing the complete specifications. This document makes up the most important part of the application, and should contain the full disclosure of the invention and the claims defining the subject matter for which protection is being claimed/sought.
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