Patent registration in South Africa

Patent registration in South African is affordable and easy. A South African provisional patent costs only $49 through GlobalIPCo and $99 through Iptica. See our provisional patent drafting and filing guide.

In 12 months time, consider filing a PCT patent to reserve your patent rights internationally.

If you are a foreigner selecting countries in which to extend your patent at the end of the PCT phase, South Africa should be a default selection (costing US$469 through GlobalIPCo (filing to grant). The deadline for lodging South African national phase patent applications is 31 months from the earliest priority, extendible on payment of late lodging fee by a further 3 months. There are no additional charges for multiple priority claims, excess pages, surplus claims or translations if the specification is in English.

Furthermore, the South African Patent Office is a non-examining Patent Office and will allow a patent application to proceed to grant as long as the formal requirements have been complied with. In the absence of voluntary amendment, a patent application will in most cases be accepted and granted with the original specification within about 6-9 months from the date of entering the national phase in South Africa.

South Africa remains the commercial gateway to the rest of Africa. And, to obtain patent protection in 34 African countries, you need only file four patents – South Africa, Nigeria ($600 through GlobalIPCo), ARIPO and OAPI. There is no simpler or more cost effective way to secure patent coverage in such a large emerging market.