Which South African patent law firms filed the most provisional patents in 2020?
Surprisingly, 2020 didn’t see a significant drop in the number of South African provisional patents filed. Although, the South African Patent Office was closed for a few months during lockdown, the decline in provisional patents simply continued its gradual negative trend.
Adams & Adams remains the top filer of South African provisional patents, with S&Z retaining second place for a second year running.
Here is the top filing list for 2020:
| Patent firm | Provisional patents filed |
|---|---|
| Firm 1 | 158 |
| S&Z | 104 |
| Firm 3 | 81 |
| Firm 4 | 66 |
| Firm 5 | 47 |
| Firm 6 | 47 |
| Firm 7 | 47 |
| Firm 8 | 42 |
| Firm 9 | 38 |
| Firm 10 | 29 |
| Firm 11 | 20 |
| Firm 12 | 20 |
| Firm 13 | 14 |
| Firm 14 | 14 |
| Firm 15 | 13 |
| Firm 16 | 10 |
| Firm 17 | 9 |
| Firm 18 | 8 |
| Firm 19 | 7 |
| Firm 20 | 6 |
| Firm 21 | 6 |
| Firm 22 | 6 |
| Firm 23 | 6 |
In September 2021, S&Z became the largest filer of South African patents – a position S&Z maintained in 2022, 2023 and 2024.