Software-Related Patents:
South Africa
copyright 1996 Donald M. Cameron , Aird & Berlis
Contents
Statutes
Section 25 of the South African Patents Act, No. 57 of 1978, provides that a patent may
be granted "for any new invention which involves an inventive step and which is
capable of being used or applied in the trade or industry or agriculture."
Subsection 25(2) provides that anything that consists of a discovery, a scientific
theory, a mathematical model, a scheme, rule or method for performing a mental act,
playing a game or doing business, a program for a computer or the presentation of
information shall not be an invention for the purposes of the Act. The prohibition under
subsection 25(2) prevents that thing from being treated as an invention only to the extent
to which a patent or an application for a patent relates to that thing "as
such".
It is believed that the statute thereby excludes from patentability computer programs
but does not prevent the patenting of software-related inventions so long as they are
claimed as methods or as hardware adapted to perform particular functions.
Regulations
The South African Patent Office is a non-examining office. There are no guidelines for
examination of software-related inventions.
Case Law
There is no case law that deals specifically with the patentability of software.
Endnotes
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