DTI to get tough on patent grants

The Department of Trade and Industry is to go ahead with a controversial change to the way in which patents are granted.

Pharmaceutical companies and other business interests have contended that tightening the intellectual property laws will deter foreign investment.

Currently, South Africa grants patents without investigating whether the application meets all the legal criteria.

But a year ago the DTI - which has been strongly lobbied by activists - proposed changes to the way in which patents are granted.

The department wants to establish a patents examination office that will be staffed by scientists, chemists, engineers and legal specialists to assess every patent.

But most of the 115 comments on the proposed change submitted to the department are in opposition to it.

The pharmaceutical industry maintains that South Africa does not have nearly enough skilled scientists to examine every patent to ensure that it is genuine and original.

They warned of a growing backlog of patent applications.

DTI deputy director-general Zodwa Ntuli said yesterday that responses to the draft proposal included assertions such as "we are going to drive investment out of country".

Despite the overwhelmingly negative feedback, the department will send a bill to parliament by the end of the year.

McDonald Netshitenzhe, the DTI's chief director of policy, said the new law would end the granting of frivolous patents that gave multinational companies a monopoly on drug sales.

But Netshitenzhe admitted that "the policy looks at an entire change to South Africa's intellectual policy laws, but the benefits outweigh the costs".

Ntuli said an independent regulatory impact assessment had shown that a complete overhaul of South Africa's intellectual property legislation could be implemented and "was not out of line".

Parliament is expected to debate the bill early next year.