Billetterie introduces digital certificates solution to National Office (CIPC)

Issued by Billetterie
Johannesburg, 30 Aug 2022

Previous process and limitations

Certificates are prepared manually. The Trade Marks Division provides several different types of certificates to trade mark holders, which include:

Trade Mark Registration Certificate;
Certified Extract;
Certificate of Change of Name;
Certificate of Hypothecation;
Certificate of Assignment;
Certificate of a Registered User; and
Certificate of Cancellation of Registered User.

Previous challenges were:

The dispatch process of the certificates via SAPO Services was highly unreliable. As a result of dispatcher delays by SAPO, documents did not reach CIPC applicants/clients.
The certificates that were captured manually were not only time-consuming but also prone to errors. There was no system verification emanating from clerical errors and the hard copy certificates were not stored in the electronic Register, making tracking, tracing and corrective measures labour-intensive and costly.
In lieu of that, the Trade Mark Business Owner requested that the issuing, generation and storing of all trade mark certificates be automated.

Certificate generation solutions

The process aimed at digitising and automating the issuing of all trade mark related certificates. Associated parse into new feature additions for the certificate digitisation and automation are that:

Sealed and signed electronically, with built-in security measures;
Issued with the innovative OBS (One Button Solution);
Certificates can be saved in PDF; and
Certificates contain both the Seal of the Republic and the Seal of the Trade Mark Office.