The newsletter of the Institute of Inventors and Innovators

EUREKA!
July 2012
The newsletter of the Institute of Inventors and Innovators
Our June Gauteng Branch meeting held as
usual at the University of Johannesburg IntelliLab took
on a very different format from any we have held
before. The agenda was simply one of Questions to,
and Answers by, a specially constituted panel of
experts with a vast experience to call on. The panel
guests were Willie van Straaten (Inventec and
Verimark), Xolani Meva (Business Partners), Alewyn
Botha (Denka) and Anthony van Zantwjick (Ideanav).
The following is a précis of the various
questions and the answers given by the panel in
general:-
Q. I understand that you should disclose your
invention at the last minute. How do you protect your
idea when prototyping?
A. Such unprotected disclosures do not stop you being
able to patent. But you should use a short non
disclosure agreement (see iii website). Designers and
prototypers are not usually a problem, it’s their
business, but exhibiting the idea can be. Show as little
as is necessary to attract interest but don’t give away
the secrets. An NDA is essential when fully briefing
third parties but don’t be scared otherwise you will
never get started. Go for it!
Q. Knowing that litigation is expensive for both sides
why do patent attorneys not advise against it?
A. Only a few cases get to court in SA, 80 to 90% reach
negotiated settlements. A letter of demand is often
used to stop a fight and initiate negotiation. However
in the USA litigation can be very aggressive and
expensive.
Q. Does South Africa not generally go to court?
A. It will usually cost more than you will gain and it is
difficult to calculate damages. Try to develop your
idea as confidentially as possible and then gain a
strong market position that will be a barrier for any
copycat. There have been some cases where
government has acted to stop imported pirate
product.
Q. What happens if your patent is in a company’s
name and it goes into liquidation?
A. Like any other asset it will be for sale to the highest
offer. Your chances of getting royalties from a new
owner are slim. Avoid dealing with a doubtful
company and act quickly in case of trouble. To avoid
such circumstances it would be better to have the IP
in an IP holding company which then licenses it to the
operating company. Remember the older the patent
the less value it has.
Q. Is it possible to short circuit patent protection by
using a logo, name, or design?
A. A Trademark keeps its value throughout time and
builds up credibility. E.g. the George Foreman grill had
strong credibility although it was not necessarily the
best. Using a celebrity can quickly do this but it is
costly. A brand name can be very strong and quite
quick to establish. At the very least a design
registration should be filed as protection.
Q. For the inventor, doing novelty searches is
expensive and it is difficult to be sure that you are not
infringing on something your search didn’t find. What
can be done? What other avenues are there to search
besides on line databases?
A. Only 3% of overseas patents get filed here in SA so
you are not necessarily infringing. Now days you can
easily search on the internet it’s free but time is
needed. (See the tools on the iii website}. If you don’t
want to infringe try using prior art from an expired
patent, designers often do this. It is public knowledge,
there is no restriction so do not sign license
agreements.
Get started, because trials will provide feedback,
often prompting design reviews and more trials etc.
As few as 1% of patented ideas end up in the shops so
look elsewhere. Internet shopping sites and
III – The home for inventors. A non-profit organization controlled by inventors, supporting inventors.
Telephone: 011 487 1536 Address: 18 St. John Rd. Houghton. Email: info@iii.org.za website: www.iii.org.za
Supported by the Industrial Development Corporation.
Page 1

international exhibitions are other sources. If you
invent you have to learn about your field of invention.
Do your homework up front and gain expertise. Not
researching thoroughly enough is the most common
mistake and can lead to failure. And always keep in
mind how you’re going to market your ideas.
Q. How do you deal with something that you invented
whilst employed by a company that has a restrictive
clause in the employment contract?
A. If you develop something for the company as part
of your employment then it belongs to the company.
However if it was something you did in your spare
time and it was unrelated to your duties as an
employee then your contract would not normally be
applicable to that. For example if your job is to create
new company packaging products and you invented a
revolutionary mouse trap in your shed the company
would find it hard to lay claim to it.
Q. How much revenue do products bring in?
Why not set up a body to market patents that have
potential?
A. It’s complicated. There is more is going out than
coming in. SARS are wary of how royalties are paid
overseas to avoid tax.
The government already has various funding bodies to
finance new ideas.
Q. If your idea is a combination of known ideas is it
patentable?
A. If your idea or feature produces an unexpected
benefit it may well be. But your proposal must be
novel and not obvious to others skilled in the art.
Q. Do you have any thoughts on crowd sourcing?
A. When a crowd of people invent something IP is
difficult to manage. Websites like www.kickstart.com
are risky, though some products do well it can depend
on the product. It is much better to have a provisional
patent filed. Willie does have a contact in the USA
who did this. Contact him if you want to know more.
Q. So is it still worth taking out a patent?
A. Without IP you have nothing of value to offer a
potential licensee to get a royalty agreement. Stores
are also more comfortable stocking products that
have protection.
Q. How does the industrial design process work? At
what stage does it begin?
A. The stage is irrelevant, the same process is applied.
Basic research, market trends, IP, cost the goods,
solve problems, list requirements, working theories.
Sketch ideas, concepts, think out of the box. Take best
ideas to CAD and prototype giving you something to
hold. Then start on final design, tooling costs, profit
margins, volumes, commercialisation. If not
marketable at right price you have nothing. Then
continue to improve and reduce costs to stay ahead.
Q. Is it possible to create a guideline for inventors to
follow?
A. These exist. Go to www.iii.org.za and look at the
road map. Also www.invenfin.co.za or contact Alewyn
for other sites. You can also look at Willie’s
presentation in the April 2011 Eureka! Use these tools
diligently, never rely on family for guidance, they will
always tell you what they think you want to hear.
Q. Advice costs money, where can we get free advice?
A. There are funds available such as SPII to help pay
for development costs. You have to prepare a well
thought out proposal to put forward and there must
be input from the inventor. Once started it is difficult
to bail out of government schemes so do your
homework well. There is a sophisticated model to
follow at Angel hub (see also the earlier presentation
by Alexandra Fraser).
There were so many questions still to be
asked but the hour was now late and the
refreshments were waiting. But watch this space;
there will be more of these clearly popular sessions.
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NEW III APPOINTMENT
We are very pleased to announce the
appointment of Jean McAllister as Administrator for
the Institute.
Jean will take responsibility for all the day to day
running of the Institute including the website and
communications with members and non members
alike. She will also be arranging all the meetings and
events on our calendar. She will be pushing the III
agenda for the benefit of us all.
Actually, we welcome Jean back to the institute. Yes,
she is an ex-member of the III herself so brings her
personal experience and knowledge from that time
for the benefit of today’s members.
III – The home for inventors. A non-profit organization controlled by inventors, supporting inventors.
Telephone: 011 487 1536 Address: 18 St. John Rd. Houghton. Email: info@iii.org.za website: www.iii.org.za
Supported by the Industrial Development Corporation.
Page 2

She understands the problems and frustrations faced
by inventors, and as such is well placed to empathize
and help to direct their varied enquiries.
She has over twenty years of working experience in
sales and marketing, and as an entrepreneur with a
creative spark she developed her own unique, high
quality product range of “Dumela” porcelain African
tribal dolls.
Jean is based at our Houghton, Johannesburg office.
You will be able to contact her weekdays between
09h00 and 16h00 on the office line 011 487 1536 and
by emailing info@iii.org.za
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ATTENTION
The next III Gauteng Branch
meeting is on Wednesday 11th
July 2012 at 19:00 for 19:30
(7:30pm) at the University of
Johannesburg IntelliLab
It’s a double bill tonight! One of our long
established members, Douglas Reid will be showing
us some of the work he has been doing in the field of
energy efficiency. Not only is this a hot topic
economically, it is also one which many of us find
interesting, even fascinating. So come and be
fascinated on the 11 th .
Douglas will be followed by Peter van Nieuwenhuizen
of ”Skopus Business Consultants”. Peter often
attends our meetings; his presentation is entitled
“You have the big idea. What now?” A vexing
question for inventors who are wondering what best
to do with their idea.
In August our speaker will be Ron MacLarty.
He will be talking about the latest developments in
plastic moulding.
Directions to the Intellilab:-
GPS S26 10 54.9 E27 59 53.9
‣ Travelling East along Kingsway; soon after leaving
Perth Avenue East, turn right into Entrance 1.
‣ Travelling West along Kingsway; immediately after
the Beyers Naude Drive traffic lights, turn left into
Entrance 1A.
‣ Go to Parking A the Intellilab is in the far left
corner, diagonally across the car park.
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Have you paid your 2012 fee?
MEMBERSHIP FEES ARE DUE NOW!
Pay your R100 membership fee right now to:-
Account Name: Institute of Inventors
Bank: Standard Bank of South Africa
Branch: Rosebank
Branch Code: 4305
Account No: 004780205
USE YOUR NAME and SURNAME as the REFERENCE
Membership for young people under 25 remains free.
Should members wish to donate more or assist in
our fund raising programme please send an email to
info@iii.org.za
PITCH IT TO THE PANEL
Members get advice worth R000’s for a nominal
R200 fee
Next Johannesburg session:
Will be on July 28 th 2012
This is a premier III service, a must if you want to
explore the potential of any idea.
Present your idea to our expert panel in
complete confidentiality. They will provide you with a
whole spectrum of information and guidance to help
take it forward.
Booking essential, this session is already filling up. For
all the information you need email info@iii.org.za or
phone 011 487 1536
MEMBER NEWS
“Eureka!” would love to hear from you. Tell
us the latest news about your inventions. Send your
news to info@iii,org.za
If you have a contribution to Eureka! Please
submit it by email to the editor at info@iii.org.za
III – The home for inventors. A non-profit organization controlled by inventors, supporting inventors.
Telephone: 011 487 1536 Address: 18 St. John Rd. Houghton. Email: info@iii.org.za website: www.iii.org.za
Supported by the Industrial Development Corporation.
Page 3

Letters to the editor are also welcome. Write to
info@iii.org.za
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OTHER NEWS
IP WORKSHOP (Last chance to book)
Understanding IP and getting your IP strategy right
(Understand IP and how it protects you. Optimise your IP strategy.
Leave confident that you will do the right things at the right time)
Content: Overview of IP rights and registration
processes; discussion regarding appropriate IP
strategy for each commercialisation model; tips on
how to reduce costs
Time: 2-3 hours, Format: 90min presentation
followed by a Q&A session Cost: R200 per person
(limited to 15 inventors) Venue: IdeaNav office,
Oaklands, Jhb (walk-in resource centre)
Next workshop: Saturday 7 July 2012 at 9h30
To book a place, contact Paulo at
paulo@ideanav.co.za
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The fifth Innovation Summit is taking place in
Johannesburg on the 28 th to 30 th August 2012. For
those of you who are interested or involved in the
innovation business there will be a lot of content and
pre-Summit workshops too. Check out the
programme, visit www.innovationsummit.co.za
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Last month we gave notice of Afrimold, the tooling and mould making show for the plastics and metal industries
which is scheduled for October 10 th to 12 th 2012 in JHB. As a preliminary the Afrimold team is holding two
presentation sessions as set out below. Readers will be pleased to know that due to the timing of this newsletter
your booking may still be made after the published closing date. These sessions are free of charge!
Be part of an international discussion that will address industry innovation, new
technologies and opportunities to enable the strategic and positive rejuvination of
the tooling industry.
Speakers will include international as well as local specialists who will address current trends, challenges and opportunities for South African
companies in the global marketplace.
Date and Time:
Wednesday, 4 July 2012, 15:00 to 16:30 OR
Thursday 5 July 2012, 10:00 to 11:30
Venue:
Plastics SA, 18 Gazelle Avenue, Corporate Park South, Midrand.
RSVP: Please RSVP to info@afrimold.co.za by Friday 29 June 2012.
Please advise which session you will be attending.
Keynote Speakers:
Mr Dieter Letterman, Müller Modell- und Formenbau GmbH & Co. KG
Global Tool-making trends and opportunities in the Automotive Industry.
Dr Eberhard Döring - CEO EuroMold
How to win new business, generate new ideas and maximise the benefits of your participation in exhibitions.
Ron MacLarty - MD AfriMold
AfriMold 2012 - Discover the themes, programmes, benefits, attractions and enabling opportunities presented by AfriMold.
Who should attend this presentation?
If you are in any way involved in the following - industrial design, part design, R&D management, tool design, tool-room management,
plastics injection moulding, 3D printing / additive manufacture, precision engineering, precision machining and latest technology CNC
Machine tools.
The AfriMold team look forward to welcoming you.
III – The home for inventors. A non-profit organization controlled by inventors, supporting inventors.
Telephone: 011 487 1536 Address: 18 St. John Rd. Houghton. Email: info@iii.org.za website: www.iii.org.za
Supported by the Industrial Development Corporation.
Page 4