South Africa is progressing with plans to pass into law a new patent bill which will, amongst other things, change the way patent applications are examined and granted.  In June 2026, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition briefed Parliament on the proposed Patents Bill, which is intended to replace the Patents Act 57 of 1978. This bill is part of the implementation of South Africa’s Intellectual Property Policy.

South Africa currently operates a depository patent system. This simply means that the  Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) generally examines patent applications for compliance with formal requirements but does not conduct a substantive assessment of whether an invention satisfies the requirements for patentability before granting the patent.  As a result, grant of a South African patent does not necessarily indicate that the underlying invention has satisfied the patentability requirements stipulated under the law. Patent validity is generally tested later if the patent is challenged.

The absence of substantive examination has traditionally made it easier and faster to obtain a patent in South Africa than in other countries with substantive examination, with the possibility of obtaining a South African patent in as short as three months.  However, this has also led to the proliferation of low-quality or invalid patents.

The Bill, when passed into law, will introduce substantive search and examination (SSE) for patent applications, including consideration of whether an invention meets applicable patentability requirements. This would represent one of the most significant changes to South African patent practice in decades.

The proposed reforms also contemplate:

• Pre-grant third-party observations, allowing third parties to submit relevant information concerning the patentability of an invention during examination.
• A post-grant opposition procedure, providing an administrative mechanism for challenging granted patents.
• Reforms to the compulsory licensing framework, including measures intended to make compulsory licences more accessible in appropriate circumstances.
• Differentiated or reduced patent fees for SMMEs, intended to improve access to the patent system for smaller businesses and innovators.
• Changes intended to strengthen the overall quality and integrity of patents granted in South Africa.

CIPC has already begun preparing for the transition. According to the government’s parliamentary briefing, it has recruited and trained 36 patent examiners across various technical fields in anticipation of substantive examination.

What should businesses and patent owners consider?

For patent owners, this should result in stronger and potentially more defensible granted patents, but obtaining protection may become more demanding. Applicants could face examination reports, prior-art objections and potentially longer prosecution timelines.

The introduction of third-party observations and, eventually, post-grant opposition would also give competitors and other interested parties additional avenues for challenging questionable patent rights without necessarily commencing full-scale court proceedings.

Businesses with existing or planned South African patent portfolios should monitor the Bill closely. If enacted substantially in its current form, applicants may need to adopt a more prosecution-focused strategy, including conducting stronger prior-art searches before filing and ensuring that patent specifications and claims are capable of withstanding substantive scrutiny.

The development is also significant beyond South Africa. As one of Africa’s largest and most sophisticated IP markets, South Africa’s transition from a predominantly deposit-based patent system to substantive examination could contribute to a wider shift towards greater scrutiny of patent quality across African patent systems.