Bringing you the latest news and views from across Africa.
Jiankui He, an associate professor of bioengineering who is currently on leave from Southern University of Science and Technology, in Shenzhen, China, has claimed to be the first to successfully bring...
Developments in technology and social media platforms have changed the way that businesses engage with their consumer markets. Customer bases are now more accessible to business owners and as such the...
Counterfeiting is a practice where goods, which are generally of an inferior quality, are manufactured and sold as an imitation of the intellectual property rights of another, without their permission...
The Constitutional Court judgment which decriminalises the private use of cannabis has also resulted in an emotional high for a lot of South Africans.As predicted, this has placed a lot of existing an...
It is a reasonably well-known fact that most types of agreement may be entered into using electronic means; for example, by way of email, or even instant messaging applications, such as WhatsApp. Cert...
Mauritius attracts many entities wanting to set up shop on their tropical island. With this foreign investment, it is important to consider the implications on brand enforcement and on its trading par...
South Africa (SA) is widely recognised as the gateway to the rest of Africa, a continent which contains 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, and 1 billion people. It is therefore an attractive launch...
Recently one of the leading producers of soy sauce, the Kikkoman Corporation, was finally able to have its soy sauce dispenser bottle registered as a 3-D trade mark in Japan. Although the Kikkoman Cor...
In many companies it is common for business plans to evolve over time, however, what is often forgotten is their overriding intellectual property (IP) strategy which does not adapt to those changes....
In the recent matter between Woolworths Holdings Limited (“Woolworths”) and Mrs. Sally Baikie (“the Complainant”), the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (“ASA”) had to decide whether Woo...
The Copyright Act does not require registration in order to acquire copyright in respect of a particular work. Instead copyright subsists automatically once a work has been completed, provided that ce...
Tennis fans flock to courtsides and televisions to watch Swiss tennis sensation Roger Federer and instantly recognize the iconic RF Logo that has become synonymous with the man. However, fans will, no...
South Africa has experienced no fewer than four significant data breaches involving consumer’s personal information held by businesses, in the preceding ten months alone. There is currently no legisla...
One of the interesting aspects of patents is the degree to which countries have harmonised their laws. This stands in stark contrast to any number of other legal issues and is very welcome for patent...
Africa is one of the fastest growing economic regions in the world with countries with natural resources that supports industries such as mining, oil and gas, and agriculture, benefitting from increas...
The South African Patents Act No. 57 of 1978 (“the Act”) does not define “inventor” per se, although it is generally understood to refer to a natural person who conceives of something novel in the con...
Section 2 of the South African Copyright Act 98 of 1978 (the “Act”) states that computer programs are eligible for copyright protection in South Africa. A “computer program” is defined by the Act as “...
Does the fourth industrial revolution call for a sui generis form of IP protection?It has been said that the fourth industrial revolution is upon us. Technological fields such as Artificial Intelligen...
The intellectual capital of a business – its patent portfolio in particular – is one of many factors which ought to be thoroughly evaluated prior to entering into a licensing agreement or when conside...
Businesses operating in South Africa are currently facing the imminent implementation of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPI); however there is much debate as to whether busines...
Since the start of cross-border trade, various treaties have been entered into to provide protection of a brand holder which is similar to that of the nationals of a foreign nation in respect of their...
Unlike other forms of intellectual property that are protected for a limited period of time, trade marks can be protected in perpetuity provided the trade marks are renewed*.In some African territorie...
Tattoos are no longer taboo. From the grunge metal singer in your local bar to the CEO of a fortune 500 company, tattoos are commonplace in modern society. Most neighbourhoods will have at least one t...
Brenda Fassie. Fifi Cooper. One being a legend whose works has lived on long after she has and the other, a rising star in the hip hop music industry. These are two very different musicians, from vast...
Dear Client,There is much discussion in South Africa at the moment about the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which will come into effect on 25 May 2018 and whether we all need to comply...
25 May 2018 is celebrated as AFRICA DAY and marks the formation of the African Union. Africa has seen a vast increase in investment and growth over the past 50+ years and many companies have already m...
Effective from 1 January 2018, expedited/delayed examination may be requested for ARIPO applications. ARIPO (The Administrative Council of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization) has...
One of the most frequent queries intellectual property attorneys receive is from clients who want to “copyright their idea”. However, you can’t “copyright an idea”. Copyright protection only extends t...
What does the Agricultural Research Council (‘ARC’), a cattle breeder and a stud bull have in common? Copyright of course.In December 2017, a saga spanning more than 5 years finally came to an end whe...
For many years, brand holders have taken advantage of the comparatively inexpensive EU trade mark registration system to get registered rights in their trade marks covering all member countries of the...
Two recent decisions in New Zealand and the United States of America illustrate the importance of and recognition given to copyright in the music industry, and the need to ensure that one obtains perm...
Determining inventorship is often fraught with peril because all researchers working on a research project desire to be recognized as an inventor in the event that patent applications are filed. The q...
Increase in the sale of counterfeit goods on social media in South AfricaAfrica is home to four of the world’s ten fastest growing economies. According to Digital in 2018, Africa has been recognised a...
The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has approved and published an amendment to the Regulations of the Liquor Products Act 60 of 1989, specifically relating to the Limitation on the Use...
This was the issue before the Supreme Court of Appeal in the matter between Dinnermates (Tvl) CC and Piquante Brands International & another 401/17) [2018] ZASCA 43 (28 March 2018).The matter was...
Old habits die hard, as is the case with Taylor Swift, who has applied to trade mark several titles and catchphrases from her upcoming album “Reputation”, including the line “The Old Taylor Can't Come...
When navigating the already-choppy river of patent prosecution, it is always disconcerting to see white water ahead. For researchers developing new classes of drugs there are, unfortunately, a number...
Forbes.com describes the “Internet of Things” as “the concept of basically connecting any device with an on and off switch to the Internet (and/or to each other)”. Examples of this include:Smartwatche...
Trade marks are vital in protecting your intellectual property (IP) no matter how famous or established you are. The process applies to everyone and understanding the reason for this protection and wh...
Many of us can no longer imagine a world without social media. Its ability to record important events, share information and create a public image at very little cost is unprecedented. But as with eve...
It can easily be said that the year 2017 was wholly enveloped by the far-reaching fad of the fidget spinner..In 2017, an explosive presence of the fidget spinner was experienced world-wide. Whether fi...
So, your morning shower stirred the creative juices, and you came up with the next big thing, ensuring that not only will you be able to keep up with the Joneses, they might want to start keeping up w...
In recent times the international political arena has been fraught with alleged intellectual property violations – Eminem successfully sued the New Zealand National Party for infringing the copyright...
