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Patents Act 1978 (Act No. 57 of 1978, as amended up to Patents Amendment Act 1988), South Africa

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Year of Version 1988 Dates Entry into force: January 1, 1979 Adopted: April 26, 1978 Type of Text Main IP Laws Subject Matter Patents (Inventions), Plant Variety Protection, Enforcement of IP and Related Laws, IP Regulatory Body Notes The notification by South Africa to the WTO under article 63.2 of TRIPS states:
'This Act provides for the registration and granting of letters patents for inventions. The duration of a patent is 20 years and is non-extendable. The test of novelty is absolute novelty.
Section 90 was notified under the heading Control of Anti-Competitive Practices in Contractual Licences.
Section 90, inter alia, prohibits the inclusion of certain restrictive conditions in licensing agreements.
This Act is in the process of amendment in order to ensure compliance with the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement. Said amendments are aimed at:
(1) The removal of uncertainties relating to the payment of renewal fees;
(2) Priority dates of matter (as opposed to patent claims);
(3) The Principles of privileges in the relationship between patent agents and clients;
(4) The assessment of damage;
(5) The introduction of provisions enabling the Republic to become a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty.'


Available Texts Main text(s) Main text(s) English Patents Act 1978 (Act No. 57 of 1978, as amended up to Patents Amendment Act 1988) PDF HTML
Related Legislation Relates to (1 text(s)) Relates to (1 text(s))
Designs Act 1993 (Act No. 195 of 1993) (ZA007)
Is superseded by (2 text(s)) Is superseded by (2 text(s))
Patents Act, 1978 (Act No. 57 of 1978, amended up to Act No. 58 of 2002) (ZA051)
Patents Act 1978 (Act No. 57 of 1978, as amended up to Act No. 49 of 1996) (ZA026)

WTO Document Reference
IP/N/1/ZAF/P/1

WIPO Lex No. ZA013