MyPatent.co.za

Patenting is an expensive exercise. Below is a typical payment profile for filing a patent in South Africa only:

 

 

PHASE 1 should not cost you anything. Conduct professional patent searches for free using our patent search tool, search manual and database links. And ensure that all disclosures at this stage are regulated by suitable confidentiality agreements selected from our series of templates.

 

Do not consider filing a provisional patent application until a patent search has been conducted.

 

PHASE 2 comprises filing a provisional patent application. Either, draft and file your own application for R60 using our free toolkit, or engage a patent attorney. You should expect to pay anything from R4,950 (S&Z charge) to R20,000 in patent attorney fees.

 

Now you have a period of one year within which to evaluate your invention publicly. Use the time wisely.

 

If the evaluation is positive, continue on to PHASE 3 – filing a complete patent application. Complete patents must be signed and filed by a patent attorney, and depending on your choice of firm, this could cost anything from R4,500 (S&Z charge if S&Z prepared the provisional application) to R25,000. Thereafter to renew your South African patent annually (after the third year) could cost you as little as R85 or as much as R1,000. S&Z offers the most affordable patent and design renewal services available.

 

Securing patent protection in South Africa only can be relatively affordable … depending on the choices you make.

 

However, as is evident from the graph below, securing foreign patent protection requires somewhat deeper pockets:

 

 

If you are interested in securing patent protection in at least three countries outside South Africa, you should file a PCT (patent co-operation treaty) application. This application could cost you R13,700 to R50,000 - see our PCT cost calculator and our "File your own PCT application" Toolkit. Again, it all depends on the choices you make. The real crunch comes 30 months after filing the provisional patent application, and this will have to be managed properly.

 

Foreigners, file South African national phase patent applications for only US$585.

 

We encourage patentees to take active control over their patent costs. For example, the selection of a foreign agent could impact significantly on the national phase filing, prosecution and renewal costs. Your patent attorney’s selection is not necessarily driven by cost. It is up to you to ask for comparative quotes and influence the process.

 

Take control over your patent costs, ask questions and make informed choices. Patenting need not be expensive.

 

February 2010