South Africa Case Law

Audiosport International (Pty) Ltd v Registrar of Patents and Others (87/1978)

Audiosport International (Pty) Ltd v Registrar of Patents and Others (87/1978) [2010] ZACCP 7; 2010 BIP 86 (CP) (17 June 2010)

Court

Court of the Commissioner of Patents

Case number

87/1978

Judge

B R Southwood

The court held that the Patents Act does not provide, expressly or by implication, that a patent ceases to have legal force or effect upon expiry of its term. The Act allows a patentee to apply for amendment 'at any time,' and this is not restricted to the duration of the patent. The court found that after expiry, the patent remains capable of supporting claims for damages for infringement and is subject to revocation and amendment proceedings. The patentee retains locus standi to apply for amendment, as the register continues to record the patentee's name. The respondents' reliance on a sing…

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• Patent Amendment
• Expired Patent
• Locus Standi
• Revocation
• Damages For Infringement

Ausplow (Pty) Ltd v Northpark Trading 3 (Pty) Ltd and Others (95/0812)

Ausplow (Pty) Ltd v Northpark Trading 3 (Pty) Ltd and Others (95/0812) [2010] ZACCP 5; 2010 BIP 51 (CP) (30 April 2010)

Court

Court of the Commissioner of Patents

Case number

95/0812

Judge

Murphy

The court found that the proposed amendments to claims 1 and 13 of South African Patent No 95/0812 did not cure the invalidity for lack of inventive step as previously determined by the Supreme Court of Appeal. The amendments, which introduced a second mounting means, did not add inventive ingenuity over the prior art, particularly the Dreyer patent, which already disclosed the relevant features. The court held that the specification failed to clearly describe the mounting means and that the alleged advantages of the invention were not substantiated in the specification. As the patent remaine…

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• Patent Amendment
• Inventive Step
• Novelty
• Revocation
• Prior Art
• Procedural Irregularity

Sappi Fine Papers (Pty) Ltd. v ICI Canada Incorporated (519/89)

Sappi Fine Papers (Pty) Ltd. v ICI Canada Incorporated (519/89) [1992] ZASCA 58; 1992 (3) SA 306 (AD); (30 March 1992)

Court

Supreme Court of Appeal

Case number

519/89

Judges

Corbett, E M Grosskopf, Nestadt, Vivier, Nicholas

The court upheld patent infringement and rejected invalidity challenges, holding that the patent was to be read purposively and that the effective priority date defeated anticipation.

• Patent Infringement
• Patent Interpretation
• Material Misrepresentation
• Priority Date
• Novelty
• Revocation