'Protect your intellectual property'
2010-11-24 09:25
Cape Town - Organisations should jealously guard their intellectual property because it could potentially be a huge financial windfall, an expert has urged.
"The important thing about intellectual property is that it can be a huge thing. Whoever gets in first, they can make a stack of money," specialist Don MacRobert told News24.
He said that the internet presented unique opportunities for companies to enhance their brand by registering their trademark and conducting business in the online environment.
"You know many people don't know that Swingball was a South African invention - by two Durban guys - but they moved quickly and made a stack of money."
MacRobert conceded that there was the challenge that products would be copied, but insisted that if companies took the necessary action to protect themselves, they would be ensured a period of unchallenged access for their product in the market.
Registering trademarks
He said that the patent lasts for 20 years and in that time, competitors are forbidden from using the name and brand.
"The thing is that slow companies get left behind. A lady I met bought a B&B (Bed and Breakfast establishment) and she got herself on the internet and made a fortune. Her B&B wasn't particularly special, but she made so much money, she brought her husband back from UK to help her.
"The thing I find amazing is that 60% of South African companies do not ever think of registering their trademark. They should say, 'Let us do an audit and check what is our intellectual property,'" he said.
Trademark registration costs about R2 000 and has the potential to add value according to MacRobert. He said that business leaders like Dr Anton Rupert protected himself by registering his trademarks as a matter of practice and pharmaceutical companies exploited the economic potential of trademarks.
"Pharmaceutical companies love a blockbuster. They know the patent lasts for 20 years and in that time they can a fortune. Once it's off patent, you can produce generic medications, but you still can't use the name," said MacRobert.
He advised companies to register their trademarks and use it across all their platforms to increase the potential value.
Political trademarks
MacRobert, who is chair of the Desmond Tutu Legacy Foundation and has registered trademarks for the Archbishop Emeritus as well former South African presidents FW De Klerk and Nelson Mandela, said that a political trademark could also have quantifiable value.
"Look, I've registered the ANC, African National Congress and ANC Youth League as a brand and it might be possible to check the value of a political brand by looking at readership of newspapers, the internet and get a value."
MacRobert will make a presentation on intellectual property at the IPR Indaba 2010 on Friday.
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