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 |
|---|---|
| Firm 1 | 2,134 |
| Firm 2 | 1,885 |
| Firm 3 | 676 |
| Firm 4 | 500 |
| Firm 5 | 500 |
| S&Z | 294 |
| Firm 7 | 176 |
| Firm 8 | 165 |
| Firm 9 | 123 |
| Firm 10 | 119 |
| Firm 11 | 116 |
| FIrm 12 | 112 |
| Firm 13 | 108 |
| Firm 14 | 61 |
| Firm 15 | 49 |
| Firm 16 | 30 |
| Firm 17 | 29 |
| Firm 18 | 29 |
| Firm 19 | 26 |
| Firm 20 | 26 |
| Firm 21 | 23 |
| Firm 22 | 21 |
| Firm 23 | 18 |
| Firm 24 | 18 |
| Firm 25 | 16 |
| Firm 26 | 16 |
Most South African patent firms are filing applications electronically, with S&Z adopting a new patent filing and management system that increased efficiency of South African patent filings and reduced costs. 2021 will likely see stiff competition for market-share based on cost.
In September 2021, S&Z became the #1 filer of South African patents, and in November 2021 S&Z’s South African complete patent filings exceeded 500 per month.
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 about 4 months (where accelerated acceptance is requested) at a total cost of $469 (discount available to attorneys).