Below is How To Register A Brand Name In South Africa
If you are about to launch a new clothing brand in South Africa: First, check whether you are allowed to use your brand name/logo at a cost of R2,500 plus vat; and. Then, file a South African trademark to protect your brand name/logo at a cost of R3,750 plus vat.
Register your trademark with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), to prevent your competitors from using it. CIPC administers the Register of Trade Marks, which is the official record of all the trademarks that have formally been applied for and/or registered in the Republic of South Africa, since 1916.
Applications can be lodged in 45 different classes, depending on the goods and/or services for which the trademark will be used. Details of the international classification system, the Nice Classification System, can be obtained on the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s website(link is external). A registered trademark can be protected forever, provided you renew the registration every ten years.
Find out more about registering a trademark from the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC)(link is external) or contact CIPC on 086 100 2472.
How do I register a brand name?
Decide on your unique brand name and logo
Conduct an online search
Fill-in the trademark application
Filing for the brand name registration application
Scrutinizing of your brand name registration application
Receiving the trademark registration certificate
Do you have to register a trading name in South Africa?
Prior to the promulgation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (Act No. Therefore the CPA has prohibited the use of trading names and requires business names to be registered with the Registrar of Companies.
How much will my application cost?
The application fee for a trademark is R590. 00 for each class in which you apply, and for each spare trademark.
How long does it take to register a trademark in South Africa?
It can take anything from six months to a year to register a trademark in South Africa. SwiftReg can assist with this. As soon as the application for the trademark is filed with CIPC you have protected from any other company/individual filing the same trademark.
The registration process can take about a year, but as soon as the application is filed you will be protected for that year. When the application is filed, you will only need to renew after 10 years. This process will be a lot simpler as your trademark is already registered.