South African Patent System - Provisional and Complete Specification

Provisional and Complete Specification

If a South African inventor applies for a patent, the application is accompanied by a provisional or complete specification. A provisional specification is lodged at CIPC if the inventor is still testing or developing the product or process. The provisional specification affords temporary protection for 12 months, extendible locally for three months, and forms the basis for a complete patent application and foreign patent applications. Once the invention has been fully developed and tested, a fresh patent application, with complete specification, is filed. If the product or process has already been technically finalised from the start, only a complete specification is lodged.