South Africa ranks 42nd in the world for the number of patents filed annually, with more than 1,400 registered in 2023 alone.
The patent registration process:
- Register as a customer with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). The CIPC is the government agency that handles the registration of patents, so you can file a patent via their website;
- Make sure your idea is original: You can find out whether your idea already exists as a patent, either nationally or internationally, by using the CIPC website’s patent search function. At this point it is also important to remember that the Patents Act defines a patent as an invention that “involves an inventive step and which is capable of being used or applied in trade and industry or agriculture”. Scientific or mathematical theories, as well as artistic creations and computer programs, are not patentable under the Act. Much of what the Act fails to cover is covered under copyright law, which can protect original literary or artistic works;
- File your patent application: Now, time to file the patent. The first step is typically to file a provisional patent application, in which you provide a general description of your invention. After filing the application you have 12 months to keep tinkering with your invention, while working on the complete patent. The Patents Act allows anyone to file a provisional patent application for only R60, but according to the CIPC, you would be better off with a patent attorney by your side to help draft the application. The complete patent application is far pricier, at R590, but it gives your invention full legal protection, so that it can only be replicated and sold with your permission; and
- Renew your patent annually: After the third year of the patent’s registration you’ll have to start paying an annual renewal fee, the cost of which is determined by various factors including the age of your patent. If you miss your renewal date you still have six months’ grace to renew your patent, but there will be an additional fine to pay.
Bizarre patents
Some inventions have the potential to change lives and improve human society, but history has also seen the registration of some truly strange patents. These, according to Social Market Way, are some of the most bizarre patents filed.
The baby cage is among the more infamous patents registered during the 20th century. Patented in 1922, its design is as perplexing as it is unnerving: a cage, suspended out of a window and fastened to the outside wall, is intended to provide a ventilated spot for city babies to sleep. Perhaps there is something intuitive about the baby cage; then again, the thought of suspending your child several storeys above a city block may be one reason we don’t see many of these hanging outside windows.
The scented golf ball is another somewhat perplexing invention. Patented in 2006, the idea is to scent golf balls in various flavours, including vanilla, bubblegum and bacon. Not only does this purportedly add to the fun of the game, but it allows for easier identification of the balls in case you and your buddy have them mixed up.
“It is likely that every avid amateur golfer has at one time, or another played a wrong ball during the course of play,” reads the patent. By scenting the balls, golfers who forgot to mark theirs can prevent confusion throughout the game.
The anti-eating mask, patented in 1980, is a large mask that can be “locked in place on the user’s head to prevent removal while at the same time permitting removal under emergency conditions”, according to the patent. The purpose is to combat obesity by forcing the wearer to take smaller bites of food, and thereby feel fuller. The original patent even recommends it for medical patients who must prepare for an operation by fasting for several hours.
Can AI be registered as an inventor?
On 28 July 2021, a patent application for a food container based on fractal geometry, as well as a kind of alarm beacon, appeared in South Africa’s Patent Journal. The patents’ owner, however, was not human, but an artificial intelligence (AI) called DABUS.
Read more: In a world first, South Africa grants patent to an artificial intelligence system
Read more: Courts worldwide weigh in on whether artificial intelligence can patent inventions
The patent application had been rejected in several countries, including Australia and the UK, and has sparked debate as to the validity of registering an artificial intelligence as an inventor for patent purposes. DM