Patent office

Contact Patent Office

The South African Patent Office (CIPC) is located at The DTI campus (Block F – Entfutfukweni), 77, Meintjies Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria (telephone: 086 100 2472).

Tip: Easily file South African provisional patents online using the GlobalIPCo / Iptica online filing systems.

Patent Search

In the past, one could visit the South African Patent Office (CIPC) to file patents and conduct a patent search through the South African patent records. However, although one can still drop patent applications in the box outside the Patent Office, the Patent Office is increasingly trying to convince applicants to file patents using the Patent Office’s online filing system. The Patent Office’s abstract card system is by now so inaccurate and incomplete that manual searches through the Patent Office patent records are highly questionable.

Patent Office Services

Below are some of the Patent office services:

• South African patent searches through the Patent Office register pages. Note: if your intention is to file a patent, it is better to conduct an international online patent search. This system is only useful to find applicant details of known patents.
• Online filing of South African provisional patents. In our experience, this online filing system still has gremlins. Therefore, we continue to file patents manually.
• Receiving PCT patent applications on behalf of WIPO. Personally, we prefer to use the South African Patent Office as the PCT receiving office rather than filing PCT patents directly with the International Bureau / WIPO.

Note: Although applicants may file provisional patents with the South African Patent Office directly, complete patents must be filed through a South African patent attorney.

Renew Patent

To renew patents with the South African Patent Office, we suggest using the IdeaNav worldwide online patent renewal system. This system is the most affordable option available. It also generates and sends deadline reminders to ensure that a patent renewal is not missed. This is important, as patentees will otherwise not receive any reminders from the South African Patent Office, in many instances resulting in unintentional lapsing of patents.