Which firms filed the most South African patents in 2020?
2020 did not see a major shift in ranking of the top South African patent law firms, with the top 6 firms still accounting for more than 80% of the total patent filings (provisionals, complete patents, convention patents, and national phase patents).
| Patent firm | Patents filed |
|---|---|
| Adams & Adams | 2,134 |
| Spoor & Fisher | 1,885 |
| von Seidels | 676 |
| DM Kisch | 500 |
| Hahn & Hahn | 500 |
| S&Z | 294 |
| Edward Nathan Sonnenberg | 176 |
| Dr Gerntholtz | 165 |
| Lam Attorneys | 123 |
| Smit & van Wyk | 119 |
| Brian Bacon | 116 |
| Bredenkamp | 112 |
| McCallum Rademeyer & Freimond | 108 |
| De Beer | 61 |
| Galgut & Galgut | 49 |
| DT Du Preez | 30 |
| Taberer | 29 |
| PFT Burger | 29 |
| Leon Pierre Susan | 26 |
| Dessington & Dessington | 26 |
| Margo | 23 |
| Dennemeyer & Associates | 21 |
| Gunter | 18 |
| Bouwers | 18 |
| Deon de Beer | 16 |
| Tshaya Mashabela | 16 |
In June 2021, S&Z became the third largest patent law firm in South Africa.
Most South African patent firms are filing applications electronically, with S&Z adopting a new patent filing and management system that significantly increased efficiency of South African patent filings and reduced costs. 2021 will likely see stiff competition for market-share based on cost.
Why extend your patent to South Africa?
The deadline for filing South African national phase patent applications is 34 months (free extension offered by GlobalIPCo). Since South Africa does not examine patent applications, grant typically takes 12 months at a total cost of $469 (discount available to attorneys).