MyPatent.co.za

 

Patent costs can be categorized as follows:

 

• Searching costs
• Provisional patent costs
• PCT costs
• National phase / foreign patent filing costs
• National phase / foreign patent prosecution costs
• Design registration costs
• Renewal costs
• Commercialisation costs

 

 

Searching costs

 

Searches are useful to direct development efforts and intellectual property expenditure. Most patent databases used by patent attorneys are freely available on the internet, and there is no reason why you / a researcher within your company cannot conduct a proper patent novelty search. Search methodology is quick and easy to learn … try our free Search Tool and Manual and visit our article on Patent Searching.

 

Conducting your own searches saves you the money that you would otherwise have paid a patent firm to conduct the search - typically R600 per hour of search time plus R1,500 to prepare the report - but more importantly, it also saves you unnecessary:

 

As a further benefit, reviewing the search results may broaden your horizons and trigger further modifications, improvements or additions to your invention.

 

The benefits of conducting a comprehensive search are significant … and free!

 

MyPatent offers the most affordable patent search services available (from R2,750 / 280 Euros). 

 

 

Provisional patent costs

 

Anyone may file provisional patent applications. Provisional patent applications are not technical documents and need only “fully describe the invention”. Try your hand at drafting your own provisional patent application using our free File your Own Patent Tool and reduce the cost of filing your provisional from R4,950 - R25,000 to only R60! If you are new to drafting patents, ask MyPatent to review your document prior to us filing your application. We will provide comments and suggested amendments. Drawings are also available, if required.

 

Improving your patent drafting skills will not only result in significant cost savings. It will also encourage you to file provisional patent applications for “marginal inventions” that you would otherwise have failed to protect and which in time may prove to be little diamonds.

 

S&Z offers the most affordable patent drafting & filing services available (from R4,950 excl VAT).

 

 

PCT Costs

 

You can significantly reduce the cost of filing PCT applications from R50,000 to R8,250 by:

 

Calculate the cost of a PCT application using our transparent PCT Cost Calculator. Also see our PCT Toolkit.

 

S&Z offers the most affordable PCT filings available (from R13,700).

 

 

National phase / foreign patent filing costs

 

South Africa

 

South African complete / national phase patent applications must be filed by a patent attorney.

 

Where a provisional patent application has been drafted by a patent attorney and no improvements or additions are to be included in the complete specification, the cost to convert the provisional application into a complete application should logically be less than the amount charged to file the provisional application – much of the work has already been done … and charged for when the provisional was filed.

 

Turning now to South African national phase applications: We suggest not vetting and amending these applications on filing. Prosecution of other national phase applications will typically necessitate further amendments in any event. If necessary, only amend the South African national phase application after all other applications have been successfully prosecuted to grant (or even postpone the amendment until such time as you intend to enforce the South African patent against an infringer). Remember that South Africa is not an examining country.

 

To vet and amend a South African national phase patent application on filing costs you approximately R4,500 and generally gives you no to little return.

 

Foreigners, reduce the cost to obtain patent rights in South Africa by engaging S&Z directly. Whether you engage S&Z directly or via your local attorney does not impact you in any way, but should reduce your costs considerably - S&Z's charge for filing National Phase / “Convention Applications” in South Africa is US$585 (no strings attached or hidden costs, guaranteed).

 

Foreign

 

There is not much that one can do to reduce the cost of foreign filing costs apart from ensuring that your local patent firm instructs the cheapest, competent foreign law firm available.

 

Over the past decade the “principle of reciprocity” has spread from the US to other countries. This means that a Local Patent Firm may instruct a Foreign Patent Firm to file your foreign patent application in order to secure reciprocal instructions from the Foreign Patent Firm in future. Become actively involved in selecting the Foreign Patent Firm to ensure that the appointment is based solely on considerations of cost and competence to the exclusion of reciprocity.

 

 

National phase / foreign patent prosecution costs

 

The same considerations described in “Foreign Patent Filing Costs – Foreign” above apply here.

 

Ensure that you select a competent firm with reasonable “hourly rates” and “hours” of reasonable length. Beware of firms that have a “minimum billing period”, which could mean that even if the attorney spends a second shifting your file on his desk, he charges you the “minimum billing period” (typically 6 to 15 minutes). This ingenious concept is designed to squeeze more hours into the day.

 

 

Design registration costs

 

Anyone may file South African design applications. The application is simple to complete. Try your hand at drafting your own designs using our free File your Own Designs Tool and reduce the cost of filing designs from approximately R5,500 to only R240. If you are new to drafting designs, ask MyPatent to review your document prior to us filing your application. We will provide comments and suggested amendments. Drawings are also available, if required.

 

Improving your design drafting skills will not only result in significant cost savings. It will also encourage you to file design applications for “marginal designs” that you would otherwise have failed to protect and which in time may prove to be little diamonds.

 

S&Z offers the most affordable design drafting & filing services available (from R3,850 excl. VAT).

 

 

Renewal costs

 

You are entitled to pay South African renewal fees directly, in which event you will only be liable for the following official fees:

 

Patents:

Years	Official fee
4, 5 and 6	R130 each
7 and 8	R85 each
9 and 10	R100 each
11 and 12	R120 each
13 and 14	R145 each
15 and 16	R164 each
17 and 18	R181 each
19 and 20	R206 each
All 20 years	R2,392

 

Designs:

Years	Official fee
4, 5 and 6	R120 each
7 and 8	R77 each
9 and 10	R90 each
11 and 12	R110 each
13 and 14	R132 each
15	R149
All 10yrs (Fn)	R694
All 15yrs (Aesh)	R1,327

 

We suggest pre-paying all 20 years of renewals upfront. You may well find that this option is cheaper than the amount you currently pay your patent attorney to renew your patent / design for only two years.

 

S&Z offers the most affordable patent and design renewal services available.

 

 

Commercialisation costs

 

During the development phase and prior to filing your provisional patent application, ensure that all disclosures are made on a confidential basis. Select a suitable confidentiality undertaking from our free Confidentiality Toolkit.

 

Using these templates will save you anything from R500 to R1,500.

 

 

Also see our article on Controling your patent costs