In South Africa, local patents fall under legislation contained in the South African Patents Act 57 of 1978, and although local patents can be applied for by the inventor him/herself, it is far better for the application to be drafted and filed by a qualified patent attorney.
South African (local) patents are granted by the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO) in Pretoria, and are governed by legislation in terms of the above Act. Section 25 of the Act, Act 57 of 1978, states that:
- A patent may, subject to the provisions of this section, be granted for any new invention that involves an inventive step and that is capable of being used or applied in trade and industry or agriculture.
It precludes anything that consists of:
- a discovery
- a scientific theory
- a mathematical method
- a scheme, rule or method for performing a mental act, playing a game or doing business
- a program for a computer
- a presentation of information
When applying for local patents it is necessary for the invention to comply with certain preconditions. Firstly the invention has to be new or novel.
A search has to be carried out to see if the invention has appeared in any prior art – this means all information that has been made available to the public in any form before the date of filing the patent application. In addition the invention has to be shown to be inventive – it must not be that obvious that anyone technically minded in the field of the invention could reasonably have thought of it himself.
Finally to qualify for local patents inventions have to have a use in agriculture, industry or business. If all the above is satisfied then local patents can be applied for.
Having established that your invention satisfies the conditions for local patents, you must be extremely vigilant not to make any aspects of your invention public. If there is any disclosure before you apply for local patents it will result in the invention not being patentable.
You must be very careful not to mention the invention or any information about it in:
- Newspaper articles
- Newsletters and bulletins
- Journals, textbooks or theses
- Letters to editors
- Personal presentations
- Informal discussions with friends or others
- Talks at meetings
- E-mails or Internet articles
or in any other means of communication with other people, recording devices or computers. Local patents will not be granted if it can be shown that there has been any public disclosure.
Obviously, when making your application for either the original provisional local patent or the full patent you are going to have to disclose details about the invention to a patent attorney.
Your patent attorney is bound by a code of ethics and what passes between your and your attorney is privileged information.
If you have any further queries regarding local patents please contact our offices and speak to a patent attorney.
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