Examples of Patents in Business: How IP Drives Innovation and Success

Patents in business protect functional inventions — new products, processes, machines, or compositions of matter — by giving the holder an exclusive right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention for a limited term (typically 20 years from filing, subject to renewal fees). In South Africa, patents are granted by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) under the Patents Act 57 of 1978, and an invention must be novel, inventive, and capable of industrial application to qualify. Section 25 of the Act excludes “methods of doing business” — a materially different position from the United States, where business method patents are a recognised category. Examples like Amazon’s one-click ordering, Apple’s slide-to-unlock, Google’s PageRank, and Pfizer’s pharmaceutical compound patents illustrate how a single patent can lock in a competitive moat for two decades.

What a Patent Actually Protects in a Business Context

A patent is a territorial, time-limited statutory monopoly granted by the state for an invention. The right it confers is the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention in the country that granted it. It is not a right to practise the invention — the holder must still avoid infringing earlier patents owned by others — and a granted patent in one country confers no protection elsewhere. A US patent gives the holder no rights in South Africa, and vice versa.

For a business, the strategic value sits in three mechanisms: blocking competitors from copying a core technical feature for the term; licensing the invention for royalties; and raising the company’s perceived value, since patent portfolios are routinely cited in M&A due diligence as a proxy for technical depth.

The South African Legal Framework: Patents Act 57 of 1978

Patents in South Africa are administered by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), acting under the Patents Act 57 of 1978 and its Regulations. Registration is a single national process — there is no suburb-level or provincial filing route. To be patentable, an invention must satisfy three statutory tests:

• Novelty — not previously disclosed anywhere in the world before the filing or priority date.
• Inventive step — not obvious to a person skilled in the relevant art.
• Capability of industrial application — capable of being made or used in industry.

South Africa is a non-examining jurisdiction. The CIPC registers patents on formalities and a basic novelty check, without substantive examination of inventive step before grant. This makes obtaining a granted patent in SA faster and cheaper than in examining jurisdictions, but a granted SA patent confers a presumption of validity that can be challenged after grant. The standard term is 20 years from the filing date, subject to renewal fees falling due annually from year four. Where patent disputes do reach the courts, they generally run through the Gauteng Division of the High Court (Pretoria seat), given the CIPC’s location and the concentration of specialist practitioners in the Pretoria–Johannesburg corridor.

Burger Huyser Attorneys handles the related commercial and IP contract layer — assignment agreements, licensing terms, and IP clauses in shareholders’ agreements — through its specialist IP consultant, Stefaans Gerber, a Patent and Trademark Attorney, with the firm’s Linden head office at 49 First Avenue, Linden, Randburg (011 888 0246) acting as the practical intake point for Gauteng-based clients.

What Is Not Patentable in South Africa

Section 25 of the Patents Act sets out what cannot be patented in South Africa, even where the three statutory tests are otherwise met:

• Discoveries — findings that already exist in nature.
• Scientific theories and mathematical methods — abstract principles without a concrete technical application.
• Schemes, rules, or methods for performing mental acts, doing business, or playing games — pure abstract methods with no technical implementation.
• Computer programs “as such” — software standing alone, without a technical contribution beyond the program itself.
• Methods of treatment of humans or animals — surgical, therapeutic, or diagnostic methods practised on the body (products used in such methods remain patentable).
• Presentations of information — layout or arrangement without a technical feature.

This is the key South African divergence from the United States. Pure methods of doing business — an abstract e-commerce checkout, a method of matching buyers and sellers, an auction bidding method — are not patentable in SA even where they would qualify in the US. A technical implementation of a business idea, however, can still be patentable in SA: a specific computer system, database structure, or technical process that carries out the method may qualify, because the patent protects the technical solution, not the business concept itself.

Types of Patents Businesses Apply For

Type	What it covers	Typical business use
Utility patent (the main patent type)	New and useful functional invention — a product, process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter	Core product features, manufacturing processes, chemical formulations, software-driven technical solutions
Design patent / registered design (separate IP right under the Designs Act 195 of 1993)	The ornamental or aesthetic appearance of an article — its shape, pattern, or configuration	Product look-and-feel protection (consumer electronics, packaging, furniture)
Plant breeders’ right (under the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act 15 of 1976)	New, distinct, uniform, and stable plant varieties	Agriculture, horticulture, biotech
Pharmaceutical patent (a utility patent with regulatory data protection layered on)	New drug compounds, formulations, or processes	Pharmaceutical and biotech companies
Software-implemented invention (utility patent where the technical contribution qualifies)	Software tied to a technical effect beyond the program “as such”	Software companies whose product makes a technical contribution

Real-World Examples of Patents That Drove Business Success

Several well-known patents illustrate how a single granted right on a core technical feature can anchor a business strategy for two decades:

• Amazon’s one-click ordering patent (US 5,960,411, filed 1997, granted 1999) — protected single-button checkout and became one of the most-cited e-commerce patents of its era.
• Google’s PageRank patent (US 6,285,999) — covered the original algorithm for ranking web pages by link structure; expired in 2019 but anchored Google’s early search dominance.
• Apple’s slide-to-unlock patent (US 8,046,721) — protected the gesture-based unlocking mechanism on touch-screen devices and was the subject of high-profile litigation against Samsung.
• Pfizer’s pharmaceutical compound patents — including sildenafil and atorvastatin, supplemented by formulation, method-of-use, and process patents to extend commercial protection.
• Nike’s Flyknit technology — patented single-piece knit upper construction, protecting a manufacturing innovation that became a long-running product platform.

These examples are international, but each illustrates the same principle that applies in South Africa: a granted patent on a core technical feature is a strategic moat, and competitors must design around it, licence it, or risk infringement. Burger Huyser Attorneys handles the assignment, licensing, and IP contract work that surrounds filings like these through its specialist IP consultant Stefaans Gerber.

How Patents Drive Innovation and Commercial Success

1. Competitive moat — a granted patent blocks direct copying for its full term, forcing competitors to design around or licence in.
2. Licensing revenue — patent holders can licence the invention for royalties, the basis of entire businesses built on licensing rather than manufacturing.
3. Funding and valuation signal — patent portfolios materially affect valuation in tech, biotech, and pharma M&A investor due diligence routinely treats patent counts as a proxy for technical depth.
4. Defensive cross-licensing — companies with large portfolios use them as bargaining chips to gain access to competitors’ portfolios without litigation cost.
5. Disclosure trade-off — patent protection is granted in exchange for full public disclosure of the invention: the inventor gets exclusivity, and the public gains technical knowledge.

Filing a Patent in South Africa

Filing in South Africa typically proceeds in two stages. A provisional patent application can be filed first to establish a priority date — a 12-month place-holder that does not require formal claims — followed within 12 months by a complete patent application setting out the full claims. Filing can be done directly with the CIPC, or via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) international route for applicants seeking protection in multiple jurisdictions. Renewal fees fall due annually from year four, and lapsed renewals cause the patent to lapse. Engaging a registered patent attorney — a separately regulated profession in South Africa, distinct from a general attorney — is standard practice for drafting claims, since the wording defines the scope of the monopoly. Burger Huyser Attorneys works alongside registered patent attorneys for technical claims drafting, while handling the surrounding IP contract work through its specialist IP consultant.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a patent in business, in plain language?

A patent in business is a state-granted monopoly that lets the owner exclude competitors from making, using, selling, or importing a specific invention for a limited number of years (typically 20 from filing). It is a strategic asset used to block copycats, generate licensing royalties, and signal technical depth to investors and acquirers.

Can methods of doing business be patented in South Africa?

No. Section 25 of the South African Patents Act 57 of 1978 expressly excludes schemes, rules, or methods for doing business from patentability. The position is materially different from the United States, where business method patents are a recognised category. In South Africa, however, a technical implementation of a business method can still be patentable where it provides a technical contribution beyond the program “as such”.

How long does a patent last in South Africa?

The standard term is 20 years from the filing date, subject to payment of prescribed annual renewal fees from year four onwards. If renewal fees are missed, the patent lapses and the invention enters the public domain.

Does a South African patent protect an invention internationally?

No. Patents are territorial. A South African patent confers rights only in South Africa. To protect an invention in other countries, separate applications must be filed in each jurisdiction, either directly or via the Patent Cooperation Treaty international route within the priority year.

What is the difference between a patent and a registered design in South Africa?

A patent protects a new functional invention — how something works. A registered design, under the Designs Act 195 of 1993, protects the new ornamental or aesthetic appearance of an article — how it looks. The same product can carry both kinds of protection.

Why do businesses patent inventions instead of keeping them secret?

Reverse engineering and independent invention make trade secret protection unreliable for products that can be taken apart and copied. A patent gives a defined statutory monopoly in exchange for full public disclosure of the invention — the holder gets exclusivity for the patent term, and the public gains technical knowledge that advances the state of the art.

If you are a South African business weighing up patent protection — for a new product, a manufacturing process, or a technical implementation of an idea — Burger Huyser Attorneys can scope the filing route, handle the IP contract layer (assignment agreements, licensing terms, IP clauses in shareholders’ agreements), and work alongside a registered patent attorney for the technical claims drafting. The firm’s specialist IP consultant is Stefaans Gerber, and patent and trademark instructions are routed through the Linden head office at 49 First Avenue, Linden, Randburg, 2195 (011 888 0246). The firm carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”) and handles IP work alongside its broader commercial and litigation practices.