NAMIBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Nadine van Schalkwyk, Ralph Strauss, Bonita R de Silva, Ivo dos Santos, Chrissie Turck, Jané Louw, Nicole Freygang and Natasha Nekuta, Dr. Weder, Kruger & Haikali Inc.
If the Registrar grants or refuses to grant a patent, they must notify the applicant in writing. In the case of a decision to grant a patent, the applicant must pay the registration, publication, and annual fees within 90 days. The Registrar must, on payment of these fees, grant the patent. A patent is considered granted on the date of publication of a reference to the grant in the Industrial Property Bulletin. The patent owner has the right to exploit the patent and to exclude others from exploiting the patented invention without their authority, so that the owner enjoys the full profit and advantage of the inven - tion. Exploitation of a patented invention without the authority of the owner constitutes an infringement. Infringement proceedings may be instituted in the Tri - bunal by the patent owner. Where a patent has been infringed and the owner has instituted proceedings, the Tribunal may grant an interdict, an order for any infringing product or process article or product to be delivered up, damages, or in lieu of damages, a reasonable royalty. Appeals can be made to the High A trade mark is defined in the Industrial Property Act No 1 of 2012 as a mark used or proposed to be used in relation to goods or services to distinguish those goods or services from the same kind of goods or services connected in the course of trade with any other person. A mark is any sign capable of being represented visually, including a device, name, signa - ture, word, letter, numeral, figurative element, shape, colour or container for goods, or any combination of such signs. The registration of a trade mark is valid for a period of ten years from the date of the application for registra - tion. The registration may be renewed for consecutive periods of ten years, subject to the registered owner paying the prescribed renewal fees. Court of Namibia. 7.2 Trade Marks An application for the registration of a mark as a trade mark must be filed with the Registrar and must con - tain a request for registration on the prescribed form, a representation of the mark, a specification of the goods or services for which registration is requested,
and an indication of the applicable class or classes of the International Classification of Goods and Services. The Registrar must examine the application as to form and substance and determine whether the mark is registrable. The Registrar may accept the application with or without conditions or refuse the application. The Registrar must advise the applicant of their deci - sion in writing within a reasonable period. The appli - cant will have 30 days to respond to the Registrar’s notification, addressing any issues raised, failing which the application will be deemed abandoned. The applicant must, following receipt of confirmation of acceptance of the application by the Registrar, cause the application to be published in the Industrial Property Bulletin. Should no person oppose the registration of the mark within 60 days of publication, the mark may be regis - tered as a trade mark, and the applicant may obtain a registration certificate. The owner of a trade mark has the right to exclude others from unauthorised use thereof in the course of trade. Trade mark rights may be enforced by means of oppo - sition proceedings where an opposing mark is pub - lished in the Industrial Property Bulletin, or Tribunal proceedings in the case of infringement. Available remedies for infringement include an inter - dict, an order for the removal of the infringing mark from infringing goods (or that such goods be delivered up), damages, or in lieu of damages, a reasonable royalty. Appeals can be made to the High Court of Namibia. 7.3 Industrial Designs A design is defined in the Industrial Property Act No 1 of 2012 as any features of form or shape or configu - ration, or any features of pattern or ornamentation, including any composition of lines or colours, applied to an article to give it an appearance discernible by the eye, but does not include any feature serving only to obtain a functional or technical result.
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