Top South African Patent Law Firms – Provisional Patent Filings 2019
These are the top South African patent law firms, according to number of South African provisional patents filed in 2019:
| Patent firm | Provisional patents filed |
|---|---|
| Firm 1 | 193 |
| S&Z | 143 |
| Firm 3 | 92 |
| Firm 4 | 68 |
| Firm 5 | 61 |
| Firm 6 | 51 |
| Firm 7 | 37 |
| Firm 8 | 33 |
| Firm 9 | 31 |
| Firm 10 | 21 |
| Firm 11 | 20 |
| Firm 12 | 19 |
| Firm 13 | 18 |
| Firm 14 | 15 |
| Firm 15 | 14 |
| Firm 16 | 13 |
| Firm 17 | 11 |
| Firm 18 | 11 |
| Firm 19 | 10 |
| Firm 20 | 9 |
| Firm 21 | 5 |
| Firm 22 | 4 |
| Firm 23 | 3 |
S&Z is the second most popular firm selected by South African inventors to draft and file provisional patents for their inventions.
2020 saw S&Z retain its position as the second largest South African patent law firm when it comes to filing provisional patents, and in September 2021, S&Z was the #1 filer of South African patents.
Uses for provisional patents
A provisional patent (cost: R19,950 plus vat) is the first patent filed by an inventor. If patent protection is sought, corresponding complete patents must be filed in select countries within 12 months. Provisional patents are also useful tools for deterrence and marketing – see the Pantene example.
Read more: How to instruct us to draft and file a South African provisional patent for your invention.