Prior art searches
Our discussion about brand names in the chapter on trade marks points out that it is advisable to search the Trade Marks Register to confirm whether the name is available for use. There is no point choosing a brand name, preparing expensive packaging, and planning a launch campaign with advertising only to discover that the trade mark you have selected is already registered in the name of someone else.
The same principle applies to devices and/or processes that you have innovated and developed. There are many clever creative people in the world who may have had the same brainwave as yours and registered their patent before you did. This could mean that your invention is not novel; more significantly, it might also mean that you infringe their patent.
It is therefore useful — if not essential — to search for earlier patents. If your intended use is only in South Africa, the possibility of infringing another patent could be determined by searching the South African patents register. However, because novelty concerns the state of the art, a patent search should be worldwide. International patents can be found in databases on Google Patents (www.patents.google.com) and www.worldwide.espacenet.com, for example. It is highly advisable to engage a patent attorney in this process.