In a recent judgement by the Court of the Commissioner of Patents (Republic of South Africa) in the case Regents of the University of California and Others v Eurolab (Pty) Ltd and Others ( 2024-039643; 2023-108509) [2025] ZACCP 1 (25 February 2025) the court found that the right for an applicant to apply for a patent where such right is as the consequence of an assignment by the inventor(s) to the applicant, must have been acquired from the inventor(s) before making the application for a patent. On the facts presented to the court, it was found that no assignment existed at the time of the application and the court revoked the patent on the grounds of not meeting the requirements of Section 27(1) of Patents Act 57 of 1978.
