International convention - priority right

South Africa is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. Consequently, an application for the registration of a design first filed in the Republic of South Africa affords the applicant a priority right for the registration of the same design in other convention countries, provided that the foreign applications are filed within six months of the filing date of the basic application in this country. However, if the design is made available to the public before the basic application filing date, and even though the South African application is filed within 6 months of this release date, it may thereafter not be possible to obtain valid design protection in most foreign countries.

Likewise, if a South African application is filed within six months of the filing of a first application in a convention country, convention priority can be claimed, in which case the effective date of the South African application will be the filing date in the convention country.

For a list of the Paris Convention countries please click here to download our pamphlet on Registration of Designs. For further detail on applications in other countries, please click here to download our pamphlet on Patents, Utility Models and Registered Designs Protection in Countries other than the Republic of South Africa. Further information can be provided on request.