Intellectual Property Services

Intellectual Property Services

 

You’ve chosen a brand and it’s just about to take off, but you want to know if it’s available and you’re not sure what other similar brands are out there and. Maybe you’ve been investing in your brand for years and you want to make sure its valuable reputation is protected. Or, it’s too late, and someone’s gone and stolen your idea or logo and their products are being mistaken for yours.

Perhaps you want to license or sell your brand, or you’re thinking of stepping things up a notch and taking it overseas. For any of these situations, registering a trade mark protects your business identity and prevents your competition from using a confusingly similar (or identical) one. If protected properly, your trade mark can become the most valuable asset in your business.

Registering your trademark involves a few hurdles and tricks to get right. AMI Attorneys has a dedicated intellectual property lawyer specializing in all things copyright and trademark related. With years of experience under our belts, we can advise on and handle the process, and work with you on a strategy to best protect what’s yours.

What can we offer you?

1.

ADVICE

We can advise you on:

  • Suitability of your brand for use and registration
  • Protecting and increasing your brand’s value
  • Other trade mark-related matters in  Africa and internationally
  • Dispute resolution strategies

2.

SEARCH

We search for similar brands on the  African Trade Mark Register or abroad that could block the registration of your trade mark. The results help us tailor our filing strategy, increasing the possibility of successful registration.

3.

TRADE MARK REGISTRATION

We will administer the entire registration process, ensuring your brand is legally protected and owned by you. This includes:

Step 1: Filing your mark

A trade mark is protected from the first moment of filing (if it proceeds to registration), which is the first step of the application process involved in registering your trade mark.

We will:

  • Establish a filing strategy to increase the likelihood of successful registration
  • Identify the applicable classes of products or services
  • Prepare the specification of products or services for the relevant classes
  • File applications with the relevant business registry.

Step 2: Examination of your mark

After about 12 months, the relevant business registry will examine the application and either accept, provisionally refuse, or accept subject to conditions.

We will:

  • Report the examiner’s response and strategize with you to comply with the examiner’s conditions or overcome the provisional refusal
  • Respond to the examiner satisfying their conditions or take steps to overcome the provisional refusal

Step 3: Advertising and Registration

Once accepted, we will have your application advertised in the  Patent Journal for opposition purposes.

We will:

  • Provide a strategy and assist with negotiation or litigation, if an opposition is lodged
  • Draft your registration certificate and finalize the procedure, if no opposition is lodged or an opposition has been overcome

4.

OTHER TRADE MARK SERVICES

Renewal and Ongoing Services

We will:

  • Diarise and remind you when trade mark registrations become renewable
  • Be the address for service for any correspondence related to the trade mark
  • Notify you of any potentially conflicting trade marks

Miscellaneous Services

We offer:

  • Assigning a trade mark from one person to another and recording it on the Register
  • Changing the name or address of a trade mark owner on the Register
  • Obtaining a new trade mark certificate
  • Removing conflicting trade marks from the Register
  • Restoring your trade marks that have been removed from the Register

5.

OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SERVICES

Some of the IP-related services we offer:

  • Copyright
  • Registered Designs
  • Patents
  • Domain Name Registrations and Disputes
  • Counterfeit Goods
  • Protecting your Know-How and Trade Secrets – Non-Disclosure Agreements
  • Got any IP issues? We can probably help

Price list

SERVICE PRICE*
Consultation
$65
Limited Search
$100
Full Search
$100 - $200
Trade Mark Filing (first class)
$220
Trade Mark Filing (per additional class)
$150
Finalizing trade mark registration (first class)
$110
Finalizing trade mark registration (per additional class)
$40
*excl. VAT