An application to record an assignment or a licence in respect of a patent or design registration, should be made within six months of the event entitling the applicant to request the recording. Both the Patents and Designs Acts provide that unless an assignment is recorded, “it shall not be valid, except as between the parties thereto”. We therefore recommend that assignments of patents, registered designs, or of applications therefor, be recorded in a timely manner, at the ZA Patent and Designs Offices.

 

An application to record an assignment of a trademark registration has to state the effective date thereof, and if more than twelve months has elapsed, a penalty is payable. An assignment of a registered trademark or trademark application, is of no force or effect unless it is in writing and signed by or on behalf of the assignor.