Patent costs
Patenting can be an expensive exercise. Below is a typical cost profile for filing a patent in South Africa:
PHASE 1 – Patent search
Conducting a patent search is critical. Don’t do this properly, and you will waste a lot of money. Either conduct online patent searches using our Search Manual or instruct us to conduct a professional patent search for R4,950.
Ensure that all disclosures during this stage are regulated by suitable confidentiality agreements.
PHASE 2 – Provisional patent
Either, draft and file your own application for $199 using our Patent Toolkit), or instruct us to prepare and file a provisional patent (for only R9,950) (excl. vat).
The provisional patent application reserves your right to secure patent rights worldwide for 12 months. You have a period of one year within which to evaluate your invention publicly. Use the time wisely.
Although you may file a South African complete or international / PCT patent as your first patent, we suggest starting with a South African provisional patent application – see our reasons.
Note: IdeaNav / S&Z is the second most popular South African patent law firm selected by inventors to draft and file South African provisional patents.
Register your own provisional patent with CIPC using GlobalIPCo’s online filing system. The GlobalIPCo system automatically creates the patent forms and the US$199 patent filing fee is paid by credit card. You will receive a Patent Pending Number within one business day. Prepare the description of your invention using our Patent Template.
PHASE 3 – Complete patent application
Complete patents must be signed and filed by a patent attorney. Our charge to prepare and file a South African complete patent application is R11,950 (excl. vat). This fee covers drafting, filing, prosecution and grant of the South African patent.
Securing patent protection in South Africa is affordable.
However, referring to the graph below, securing foreign patents requires somewhat deeper pockets:
Foreign patents
If you are interested in securing patent protection in at least three countries outside South Africa, you should file a PCT (patent co-operation treaty) application. If you file your PCT patent through us, this application could cost you as little as R34,000 – see our PCT Cost Calculator and PCT Toolkit.
The real crunch comes 30 months after filing the provisional patent application. You can expect to pay between R25,000 and R45,000 per country to file your national phase patents. Thereafter, depending on the degree of engagement with the patent examiner, you can expect to pay between R25,000 and R70,000 over the following 2-3 years to prosecute each national phase patent to grant. Budget properly for national phase patents using our foreign patent costing tool.
South African national phase patent
Foreigners, seriously consider filing a South African national phase patent. The country is a gateway into Africa. And, the filing process is the quickest, simplest and cheapest in the world – no examination and only US$585 “all-in”. Alternatively, instruct filing of your South African national phase online through GlobalIPCo for only $399 (download brochure).
To file a South African convention application, all we require is the PCT / WO number. Additional documents are required to file a South African convention patent application.
Patent renewal
South African patent renewal fees are paid annually after the third year of filing. Save up to 70% on renewal costs using our online Patent Renewal Tool. And, see our Renewal Cost Table for worldwide patent renewal costs / annuities.