SA and other countries should seriously look at patenting software to gain the same rights as the US has for protecting software, says Mpazi Sinjela, dean of the World Intellectual Property Organisation`s Worldwide Academy.
Sinjela`s view is that software published in SA, Europe and the rest of the world is mainly protected under copyright laws, rather than patent laws. This places these countries at a disadvantage, particularly with regard to the financial benefits that may be gained, he adds.
He spoke to ITWeb following his keynote address at an intellectual property (IP) conference at the University of Cape Town`s law faculty.
"The patent system is fully established with offices and proper legal recourse, while copyright, which may give a longer period of protection, does not offer the same level of protection as patents," he explains.
Sinjela notes that developing countries would benefit financially from the need to create IP systems to protect their inventors` rights. These rights would benefit the country through revenue gained from foreign sales of the software, foreign direct investment and tax.
He says IP regulations promote the development of national indigenous technological capacity and enhance a country`s global competitiveness.
Measure of protection
Julian Kinderlerer, a professor of IP law at the University of Cape Town, says licensing agreements remain the strongest means of protecting software as they form a contract between the developer and end-user.
"Patents, originally, were started to give inventors a measure of protection for a certain period with the understanding that their inventions would be used as a starting point for other inventors and that is why a full description has to be given."
Kinderlerer believes software should not be patented, because it is not an invention.
Both Sinjela and Kinderlerer feel developing countries, especially those in Africa, should be doing more to protect and promote local innovation.
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