• Patent fees

Fees associated with filing a patent application in South Africa as well as other patent fees are available in the fee calculator.

• Term for filing a patent application in South Africa

South African patent application claiming conventional priority may be filed within 12 months from the priority date.

• Minimum filing requirements in South Africa

To obtain a filing date, it is necessary to provide the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission with:
- name(s) and address(es) of applicant(s) and inventor(s);
- number, date and country of the priority application, if Paris Convention priority is to be claimed;
- title of an invention (specification, claims and drawings in any language must be submitted within 14 days from the filing date);
- prescribed fee.

• Language of the South African patent application

The official language of the South African IP Office is English. The application may be filed in any other language; however, the translation thereof into English must be provided within three months from the date of filing.

• Priority document

A certified copy of the priority document must be provided within six months from filing. If the priority document is not in English, the certified translation thereof is required. A scanned PDF-copy is enough for the South African Patent, Trademark and Design Office.

• Power of Attorney requirements

The Power of Attorney is not required to be legalised. It must be provided within six months from the date of filing a patent application in South Africa. Late filing of the Power of Attorney is subject to payment of a surcharge. A scanned PDF-copy is enough for the South African Patent, Trademark and Design Office.

• Assignment Deed

If the inventor is not the applicant of the South African patent application the Assignment Deed must be provided; legalisation is not required. It is possible to submit thereof after filing, i.e. within six months from the date of filing, provided that surcharge is paid. A scanned PDF-copy is enough for the South African Patent, Trademark and Design Office.

• Substantive examination request

A patent application in South Africa is examined for compliance with the formal requirements only.

• Novelty grace period

There is no provision in respect of novelty grace period in the South African patent legislation.

• Grant and maintenance fees

There is no official grant fee to be paid. Patents in South Africa are valid for 20 years from the filing date. The first patent maintenance fees are calculated starting from the third anniversary of the filing date. However, they may be delayed until the grant of the patent.

• Representation by a patent attorney

For foreigners, it is required to perform the patent prosecution in South Africa through an agent, a registered South African patent attorney.

Brief summary is based on the information provided by SIBANDA & ZANTWIJK ATTORNEYS on 28.02.2024
Please contact us if the above information is not in conformity with South African IP Laws