Patent fees

Contact IIPLA today fees associated with filing a patent application in South Africa.

Term for filing a patent application in South Africa

– Twelve-months term under Paris Convention.

– Three additional months extension is possible.

Minimum filing requirements in South Africa

– The country, number and date of the underlying application if Paris Convention priority is to be claimed.

– Title of an invention ( claims, drawings and specification, in any language must be submitted within 14 days from the filing date).

– Prescribed fee.

– Name and address of applicants and inventors.

Language of the South African patent application

English is the official language of the South African IP Office. You get 3 months time from the date of national phase entry filing for translation if the application is filed in any other language.

Priority document

In South Africa, a certified priority document must be submitted with in 6 months of filing. If its not in Englisg then the certified translation is necessary. A scanned copy would be enough.

Power of Attorney requirements

In South Africa, the POA is not required to be legalized. It must be provided within 6 months from the date of the South African PCT national phase entry. Late filing of the POA is possible with additional fee. A scanned copy would be enough.

Assignment Deed

In South Africa, the Assignment Deed must be provided if the inventor is not the applicant. Its legalization is not necessary. It must be provided within 6 months from the date of the South African PCT national phase entry. Late filing of the assignment deed is possible with additional fee. A scanned PDF-copy is enough.

Substantive examination request

In South Africa, a patent application in is examined for compliance with the formal requirements only.

Novelty grace period

In the South African patent legislation there is no provision in respect of novelty grace period.

Grant and maintenance fees

In South Africa, no official grant fee needs to be paid. The 1st patent maintenance fee is calculated starting from the 3rd year from the international filing date. Nevertheless, they may be delayed until grant of the patent.

Representation by a patent attorney

For foreigners, it is required to perform the patent prosecution in South Africa through an agent, a registered South African patent attorney.

If you have any queries related to the Patent Filing in South Africa, please contact IIPLA team. We will be more than happy to resolve your queries free of cost.