Our Expertise - Patents

Patents are government grants that give investors exclusive rights to their inventions for a limited period of time. Patents are granted for products or processes that are new, workable and ingenious (novel, useful and inventive).

Patent prosecution is the process of drafting the application, which is a detailed written description of the invention, filing it with the Patent Registry and answering requests for additional information from the Patent Registry. The process also involves reviewing other patents, non-patent publications, and reports of public disclosures and or uses in an effort to determine whether anyone else has attempted to obtain a patent on a similar invention, or published an article or abstract on a similar invention. Prosecution also may require preparing and, if necessary, arguing any appeals from the final refusal of a patent.

Our Staff at MacMillan’s IP Attorneys handle all aspects of prosecution from initial review of similar products to final appeals when necessary. If you are considering filing for a patent in Seychelles, contact us to schedule a consultation. We will evaluate your product and advise you as to the most efficient way to proceed.

To obtain a patent, you must show three things:

1. That the invention is new; no one else has already invented it;
2. That the invention is useful – that it does something functional, and
3. That the invention or improvement is not obvious to one skilled in that art.

In Seychelles, the law requires that you file an application with the Patent Registry within three years of making the invention known or available to the public. At MacMillan’s IP Attorneys, we are qualified to provide you with a written opinion as to whether a patent may be obtained. We will guide you with respect to the filing of your patent application.

We have close and long standing relationship with Patent Attorneys in several jurisdictions throughout the world. If you need to obtain a patent in any country outside Seychelles, MacMillan’s IP Attorneys can interface on your behalf with Attorneys in those countries to provide you with the broadest and best possible protection.

Our patent practice covers IP that relate to the function of a device and its aesthetic appearance. We provide searches and also draft, file and prosecute industrial design applications. We provide registration in Seychelles of UK and European Union Registered Patents. In addition, we provide opinions concerning registrability, validity, invalidity, title and infringement and non-infringement.