Patents & Designs

Protecting new inventions and the look or shape of your products.

A patent protects a new invention, such as a product, process or technical improvement. A registered design protects the appearance or functional shape of a product. Both must be applied for, and both depend on novelty: if you publicly disclose your invention or design before filing, you may lose the right to protect it. Timing is everything.

Where we assist

  • Early strategy: deciding whether a patent, design, trade secret or a combination is the best protection.
  • Confidentiality: NDAs and disclosure controls before you pitch to investors, partners or manufacturers.
  • Filing: provisional and complete patent applications and design registrations, working with registered patent attorneys where specialist drafting is required.
  • International protection: planning PCT and foreign filings within the priority deadlines.
  • Commercialisation: licensing, assignment and joint development agreements.
  • Disputes: infringement claims, revocation proceedings and freedom-to-operate advice.

What can be patented?

Under the Patents Act an invention must be new, involve an inventive step and be capable of use in trade, industry or agriculture. Discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, business methods, aesthetic creations and computer programs as such are excluded, although a technical invention that uses software may still qualify.

Designs: aesthetic and functional

The Designs Act protects aesthetic designs (features that appeal to the eye) for up to 15 years and functional designs (shapes needed for the product to work) for up to 10 years. A design must be new, and functional designs must also not be commonplace in the art.

Who we help

We assist:

  • Inventors and engineers with a new product or process.
  • Startups whose value rests on proprietary technology.
  • Manufacturers launching new product shapes or packaging.
  • Universities, researchers and spin-out companies.
  • Businesses licensing technology in or out.
  • Companies accused of infringing someone else’s patent or design.

The patent process

From idea to protection.

  1. Keep it confidential
    Do not publish, sell, demonstrate or pitch the invention without an NDA until an application has been filed.
  2. Search and assess
    A novelty search helps assess whether the invention is new and worth protecting, and what the claims should cover.
  3. Provisional application
    A provisional application secures your filing date and gives you, in general, 12 months to develop the invention and decide on next steps.
  4. Complete and foreign applications
    Within that period you file the complete specification in South Africa and, if needed, a PCT or foreign applications claiming the same priority date.
  5. Grant and maintenance
    Once granted, a patent can last up to 20 years from the complete filing date, provided annual renewal fees are paid.

South Africa’s patent office has historically not carried out a full substantive examination of most applications. A patent’s validity is therefore often tested only when it is enforced, which makes careful searching and well-drafted claims especially important.

GET IN TOUCH

What to prepare

Helpful information for a first meeting.

  • A description, drawings or prototype of the invention or design.
  • Details of anyone you have already shown it to, and any NDAs.
  • Dates of any public disclosure, sale or publication.
  • Who developed it, and under what employment or contractor terms.
  • The countries where you plan to manufacture or sell.

Common Questions

Possibly. Public disclosure before filing can destroy novelty. Disclosure under a confidentiality agreement is generally not public. Speak to us urgently so we can assess the position before anything else is published.
No. Patents are territorial. To protect an invention abroad, you must file in each country or region, usually through the PCT system, within the priority deadlines.
Computer programs as such cannot be patented, but an invention that solves a technical problem using software may be. Copyright, confidentiality and good contracts are often the main protection for software.
Generally the employer, if it was made in the course of employment. Contracts with employees, contractors and co-founders should make IP ownership clear to avoid disputes.
It depends. A patent gives a time-limited monopoly in exchange for public disclosure. A trade secret can last indefinitely but offers no protection if someone independently develops or reverse-engineers it. We help you weigh the options.

DEVELOPED SOMETHING NEW?

Talk to us before you disclose it. We help innovators protect, fund and commercialise their inventions and designs.

Read more: Intellectual property · Protecting IP in a startup · IP licensing agreements

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This page is general information and not legal advice.

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