South Africa: Hope for measures to prevent abuse of the patent system

The South African Patent Office issued Practice Note 21 of 2023 on April 7, setting out the requirements for expedited acceptance of patent applications. The Practice Note will go some way to curbing the abuse of the non-examination system by applicants who request expedited acceptance and grant of South African patents, for example, in order to leverage governmental rebates and incentives awarded on grant of foreign patents.