Chapter 5 – Creative Thinking & Intellectual Property (Grade 10 Business Studies)

A set of question-and-answer flashcards covering intellectual-property protection (patents, trademarks, copyright, know-how and unlawful competition) and key creativity concepts such as creative blocks, techniques to overcome them, and indigenous thinking.

What are the five main ways an entrepreneur can protect intellectual property in South Africa?

Patents, Licensing of know-how, Trademarks, Copyright, and Unlawful Competition law.

What does a patent protect?

A patent protects new goods, services or production methods that are significantly different from anything previously known.

Give three examples of innovations that are patentable.

A new product, a new service, or a new production process/method.

Name four categories of ideas that are NOT patentable in South Africa.

Architectural designs, aesthetic creations such as fashion designs, investment or insurance schemes, and mathematical or business methods (e.g., credit or stock-control systems).

What is meant by “licensing know-how”?

Allowing others to use proprietary business knowledge or processes in return for payment, as in a franchise arrangement.

How does a trademark protect a business?

It gives the registered owner the sole right to use a specific name or logo in the marketplace while it remains registered.

What requirement must a trademark meet before it can be registered?

It must be significantly different from any other registered trademark.

What behaviour is prohibited under South African Unlawful Competition law?

Any conduct that deliberately confuses customers into thinking a product or service is the ‘original’ or uses another firm’s know-how without permission.

When is it unlawful for an ex-employee to use a previous employer’s know-how?

When the employee lacks the legal right or permission to use that know-how for personal gain or for a new employer.

What is copyright?

The legal protection that prevents copying or using someone’s work without permission.

List five types of works protected by copyright.

Literary works, films, sound recordings, engineering drawings, and pictures.

According to Steve Jobs, what distinguishes a leader from a follower?

Innovation.

What is a ‘creative block’?

The inability to solve a problem or generate ideas to overcome a problem.

State three practical techniques to overcome a creative block.

Stop avoiding and just start; interrupt the creative process by doing something different; engage in physical activity to relax and increase blood flow.

Why might dancing or standing on your head help break a creative block?

These activities increase blood flow, relax the mind, and shift perspective, which can spark new ideas.

What does Maya Angelou’s quote imply about creativity?

‘You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have,’ meaning creativity grows with use.

Define ‘indigenous thinking’.

Ways of knowing, seeing and producing that are passed down through generations within a specific region or culture.

How can indigenous thinking give a business a competitive advantage?

It offers unique, locally rooted problem-solving methods that competitors may find unfamiliar, leading to distinctive products or services.