Patenting in South Africa

April 2, 2009
Intellectual Property News and Interesting Facts

Patenting in South Africa is done through CIPRO, which stands for Companies and Intellectual Properties Registration Office. It is the office that handles all patenting in South Africa applications. It is however, important to note that CIPRO is a non-investigating office, unlike many overseas Patent Offices.

This means that the patent applicant has the responsibility of making sure that the invention is new, original and complies with all the regulations as stipulated.

It is thus important to make use of patent attorneys that will assess the patentability of a new application. Patenting in South Africa is managed on the principle that patents stimulate economic competition and growth. It is also for this reason why software for instance, does not automatically fall under patent laws.

There is much controversy about the topic whether software should be patentable or not. You are advised to contact Intellectual Property Lawyers should you wish to get protection for your work on a software program.