Under the current COVID-19 lockdown circumstances in South Africa, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) recently announced a closure of the Patents & Designs, Copyright and Trade Mark Divisions until at least 20 April 2020. As a result, no applications for patents, designs or trade marks can be filed during this time.

We understand that many applicants wish to protect their inventions and establish a priority date for their applications under the Paris Convention, in order to enable them to disclose and start manufacturing and selling their inventions. KISCH IP is able to assist any applicant to obtain a priority date during this lockdown period by filing foreign priority founding applications with having similar costs to that of a counterpart South African application. This will allow applicants to proceed to commercialise their inventions as if an application for the protection thereof was filed in South Africa.

Please email us on info@kisch-ip.com if you require further information or would like us to proceed with an instruction on your behalf.