- African
2. The trademark affairs are managed by the South African company and the Intellectual Property Commission, with official languages including Afrikaans, English, Zulu, and Xhosa.
3. The South African trademark registration adopts the principle of "use first".
4. At present, trademark applications in South Africa use the Nice Classification 11th edition for describing goods and services, and do not accept applications for multiple classes of one trademark.
The elements that can be registered as trademarks in South Africa include: text, name, graphics, three-dimensional identification, color combination, slogan, hologram, scent, etc.
South Africa is a signatory to international intellectual property treaties such as the Trademark Law Treaty, the Nice Agreement, and the Paris Convention; As we have not yet joined the Madrid Protocol or Madrid Agreement, trademark registration can only be processed through the "single country registration" method.
The South African trademark is valid for 10 years after registration, starting from the date of application; Renewal can be processed within 6 months before the expiration date, with a grace period of 6 months; The renewal period is 10 years.
An application for invalidation or revocation of a trademark can be submitted to the South African court, which generally takes about 2 years under current examination conditions.
If the applicant does not reside in South Africa, they must entrust a specialized agent in their home country to handle the matter. The basic materials required for trademark application are:
1. Trademark design;
2. Specific categories and product/service items;
3. Name and address of the applicant;
4. Power of attorney;
If priority is declared, proof of priority must be provided.
Application - Examination - Announcement - Issuance
South African trademark applicants submit trademark registration applications, and South Africa does not allow multiple types of applications; Therefore, if the applicant wants to register a trademark in multiple categories, they need to submit separate applications for each category.
After submitting the application, CIPC will conduct a formal examination to check whether the application is filled in correctly and whether the application fee has been paid. If the examination is passed, the trademark registration application will receive an official date and application number.
During this period, we will inspect whether the applied trademark conflicts with the existing trademark.
If the application passes the examination, it needs to be published in a patent journal for 3 months, during which anyone can object to the application. If there are objections, CIPC will give both parties time to provide evidence to support their claims.
If no objection is received to the application, registration will be carried out and a trademark registration certificate will be issued.
The entire smooth application process (if there are no rejections, objections, etc.) will take approximately 18-30 months.
