Obtaining a patent in South Africa
No place is easier or cheaper for obtaining a patent than South Africa. You can file a South African provisional patent through GlobalIPCo for $199 or through Iptica for $99. This will reserve your patent rights worldwide for a year. See our provisional patent drafting and filing guide.
GlobalIPCo also files South African national phase patents for only $399.
The reason that South Africa is so affordable is that our Patent Office does not examine patents. Provided that your complete patent was properly filed, it will be granted in about 9 months time. And, annual patent renewal fees are only +-R650 (as compared to about R2,500 for most other countries).
This means that you can accurately budget your South African patent costs. It need not empty your pocket.