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The Unified Patent Court (UPC) has changed European patent litigation from a set of national contests into a single high-stakes forum in many cases. For South African practitioners and clients who file through the EPO, this is significant since claim construction now affects both pan-European enforcement and pan-European revocation. During the transitional period (until 31 May 2030), conventional European patents may still be litigated nationally or opt out of the UPC. However, once you have opted in, you cannot opt out of Unitary Patents.
South Africa remains a continental leader throughout Africa in intellectual property (IP) governance. South Africa’s patent landscape reflects a dual character: it is both a regional leader in Africa and a system that is heavily dependent on foreign innovation. Although the country ranks 46th globally in patent applications, recent data indicates a decline in filings, particularly among resident applicants.
Effective immediately from 13 March 2026, amendments to the Regulations Relating to the Classification, Packing and Marking of Vinegar and Imitation Vinegar have come into force under the Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990 (Government Notice No. R.7218, the ‘Amendments’). The Amendments introduce important changes affecting class designations, acidity declarations, marketing claims and supply‑chain transparency for vinegar products sold in South Africa.
Effective immediately from 13 March 2026, South Africa has amended the Vinegar And Imitation Vinegar Labelling Regulations, with immediate consequences for packaging, class designations, acidity statements, and front-of-pack claims.
The Department of Agriculture is seeking industry input on the possible introduction of a new class in the Certain Raw Processed Meat Product Regulations for a “new” econo or value product consisting of raw minced meat or raw mixed-species minced meat combined with mechanically deboned meat (MDM), edible offal, spices, and water.
Under the current South African patent system, the Patent Office does not substantively examine patent applications for novelty or inventiveness before grant. Instead, South Africa operates what is commonly referred to as a non-examining (or depository) system, in terms of which it is the responsibility of the patent applicant to ensure that the claims define an invention that is new and inventive over the state of the art.
