South Africa Intellectual Property

Patents, Trade Marks & Designs

Smit & Van Wyk deals exclusively with patents, designs, trade marks, copyright and plant breeders’ rights in South Africa. Our team of Intellectual Property attorneys have the knowledge, experience and resources to give expert legal advice regarding your Intellectual Property portfolio. We can assist with the protection, prosecution and enforcement thereof. It is our mission to provide unparalleled service to our treasured clients by developing dynamic solutions which are tailored to suit individual Intellectual Property needs.

South Africa Intellectual Property

Patents

• Form P.3 (POA) and Form P.26 must be filed in support of the application.
• PCT national phase applications deadline for filing is 31 months from the earliest priority, extendable by a further 3 months.
• Convention applications deadline for filing is 12 months from the earliest priority, extendable by a further 3 months.
• No excess fees based on the number of claims or the length of the specification.
• NOT subjected to substantive examination.
• The notice of acceptance usually issues within 9 to 12 months from the date of filing in South Africa. Expedited acceptance may be requested to shorten this timeframe.
• A patent is granted within 3 months from the acceptance date.

Registered Designs

• Form D.3 (POA) must be filed in support of the application.
• Convention applications may be filed within 6 months from the earliest priority date.
• For non-convention applications a 6 month novelty grace period is provided.
• A design registration is obtainable for a single embodiment of an article only.
• Registered design protection in South Africa is grouped into two categories: Part A for designs having aesthetic features and Part F for designs having functional features.
• NOT subjected to substantive examination.
• The notice of registration usually issues within 9 – 12 months from the date of filing in South Africa

Trade Marks

• Foreign applicants are compelled to use a locally-based trade mark agent.
• A Power of Attorney must be filed in support of the application.
• For convention applications a deadline for filing is 6 months from the priority date.
• South Africa follows a single-class filing system. 
• The prosecution process includes a formal and substantive examination, as well as an examination of distinctiveness. 
• Three-month opposition period from the date of publication (extendable for further periods for three-months).
• The processing time from first filing to registration is 18 – 24 months.

Franchising

Franchise attorneys act on behalf of local as well as international clients in the franchise industry. Our franchise team advises both franchisees and franchisors with regard to legal matters and our franchising services include drafting of franchise agreements, licensing arrangements, advice on all the legal aspects when starting or buying a franchise and dispute resolution. We offer professional legal services to anyone who wishes to start or buy a franchise and we also provide legal services to established franchises who wish to have their franchise agreements reviewed.

Copyright

Copyright does not have to be registered. Copyright vests in the author of a work once the work is created in a material form and generally, the term of copyright is 50 years subject to the types of work. Any original work made by a qualified person is eligible for copyright protection. A qualified person refers to any national or resident of South Africa or a Berne Convention country.  South Africa is a signatory to the Berne Convention.

Plant Breeders’ Rights

Breeders of new plant varieties are granted rights for protection against exploitation. New plant varieties must be registered with the Registrar for Plant Breeders’ Rights. Any individual breeder or breeding institution may apply for a plant breeder’s right and foreign breeders may only apply through an Intellectual Property agent in South Africa. To be granted rights, plant varieties must be new, distinct, uniform, stable and have an acceptable denomination.