Registration of patents and intellectual property (IP) supports innovation and the commercialisation of research and development (R&D) by supporting good business cases, says Spoor & Fisher partner and IP expert Lodewyk Cilliers.

Good technology and patent registration do not automatically translate into successful products and, similarly, products can be successful without patent protection.

Understanding of the role that patent registration and IP protection play in business is important and companies and researchers must make an informed decision on whether to file a patent, he explains.

“South African researchers have a strong history of publishing research findings, but not filing patents, as they often believe that knowledge should be shared to provide the broadest benefits. However, publishing and patenting are not mutually exclusive concepts.”

Patents should be used as the basis for a commercial partnership between a researcher and a company to develop and manufacture products, and this role is not understood well enough in South Africa.

“Patents form part of incentives to promote the R&D of technologies and products, accelerating innovation and commercialisation,” says Cilliers.

Patents and IP protection are legal instruments to reduce uncertainty for investors or companies that aim to commercialise a technology, he notes.

Further, patents and IP protection are important components of establishing wider networks of innovation and enabling technologies to be commercialised more rapidly, especially in an open innovation environment.

“Open innovation requires IP protection to ensure that obligations and benefits are distributed fairly among participating parties, such as in networks of innovators, researchers and commercial companies, and are effective ways of developing and commercialising products more rapidly and taking viable products to market quicker,” explains Cilliers.

Patents and design registration are ways through which South African inventors and institutions can compete directly with First World companies and products in the local and international markets.

“Most universities have an IP commercialisation policy and office and scientists are also looking favourably at developing technologies and products, as well as adding to the scientific body of knowledge.”

To accelerate commercialisation, development and, consequently, research, South Africa must adopt international best practice regarding IP protection and patent registration. This will improve the financial incentives to support research and development, Cilliers concludes.