Amendments

It is possible to make voluntary amendments to a South African pending patent or design application, and to a granted patent or design registration, provided no new matter is thereby introduced. Before the patent is granted, it is possible to broaden the scope of the claims; after grant of the patent, it is not. We are available to give you an opinion on the advisability of making amendments in specific cases or circumstances, assisting in formulating the amendments and advising on the allowability thereof, and preparing and filing the formal request for amendment. A request for amendment does not undergo official substantive scrutiny, and the applicant/patentee bears the onus of ensuring that the amendment satisfies the requirements for allowability. In this regard it should be borne in mind that a third party can apply to the court at any time, to set aside the amendments on the ground that they contravene the legal provisions governing allowability.

The South African patenting procedure does not include substantive examination, and the grant of a ZA patent is therefore no reflection on the validity thereof. Furthermore, at any time during the life of a granted patent, it can be revoked on any one of a number of prescribed grounds including lack of novelty and obviousness. An application for revocation can be made by any third party, or by a defendant in an action for infringement brought by the patentee. We therefore strongly recommend that a ZA patent be reviewed, and if necessary, amended in the light of examination reports issued by the authorities of those countries which do conduct substantive examination. We also offer a monitoring service (see below) to assist our clients in this regard.