Technology Innovation Agency Act, 2008 (Act No. 26 of 2008)4. Powers and duties of Agency |
| (1) | The Agency may— |
| (a) | on such conditions as the Board may determine— |
| (i) | provide financial and any other assistance to any person, for the purpose of enabling that person to develop any technological innovation; |
| (ii) | establish a company contemplated in the Companies Act, 1973 (Act No. 61 of 1973), or in collaboration with any person, establish such a company for the purpose of developing or exploiting any technological innovation; |
| (iii) | acquire any interest in any person undertaking the development or exploitation of any technological innovation supported by the Agency; |
| (iv) | draw together and integrate the management of different technological innovations, incubation and diffusion initiatives in South Africa; |
| (v) | develop the national capacity and infrastructure to protect and exploit intellectual properly derived from research financed by the Agency; and |
| (vi) | acquire rights in or to any technological innovation supported by the Agency from any person, or assign any person any right in or to such technological innovation; |
| (b) | apply for patents or the revocation thereof and institute any legal action in respect of any infringement of intellectual property rights; |
| (c) | purchase or hire land or buildings or erect buildings and alienate such land or terminate or assign any such hire and, in the case of buildings in which the business of the Agency is being conducted, let such portions as are for the time being not required for the business of the Agency; |
| (d) | establish such offices, including regional offices, as the Board in consultation with the Minister may determine; |
| (e) | purchase, take on lease, hire out or alienate any movable property; |
| (f) | take such security as it may deem fit, including special mortgage bonds over in movable property, notarial bonds over movable property, pledges of movable property, cessions of rights and in general any other form of cover or security; and |
| (g) | generally deal with any matter necessary or incidental to the performance of its functions in terms of this Act. |
| (2) | Where the Agency enters into a transaction with a person as contemplated in subsection (1)(a)(ii) and (iii), the Agency may, after consultation with the Minister, elect to be represented in the Board of such person. |
| (3) | Where a right in or to any technological innovation has, in terms of subsection (1)(a)(vi), been acquired by the Agency or assigned by the Agency to any person, the Agency or such person, as the case may be, must for the purposes of the Patents Act, 1978, be regarded as the assignee of the discoverer or inventor of such technological innovation. |