Bringing you the latest news and views from across Africa.
Who is David Junior Ngcobo? Most people probably wouldn’t know. But if you ask “who is Nasty C?”, most people in South Africa who are below retirement age will know exactly who you’re talking about.Ns...
In a recent decision, the Cabinet of Ministers approved Seychelles’ membership to the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) through the accession of Seychelles to the Harare prot...
Challenging times foster innovative solutions and when times are tough we, companies and individuals alike, tend to hunker down and start innovating. Once you start innovating you turn towards the omn...
A Sunday service like no other is the order of the day; a new popular pop-up church experience hosted by the controversial hip-hop music mogul Kanye West has taken the world and recently the US Patent...
The digital era has brought about several advancements in everyday life. One of the most notable of these is the advancement in the field of technology which has changed the way businesses communicate...
Clients often enquire about the necessity of an intellectual property (IP) valuation as opposed to a standard accounting valuation. An IP valuation, unlike an accounting valuation, identifies, as a fi...
At its iPhone 11 Pro unveiling, Apple showed off the new slow-motion selfies feature to the iPhone 11 models – or as Apple jokingly referred to them as “Slofies”. Although the made-up word “Slofies” d...
Intellectual property holding companies (IPHCo’s) are registered with the purpose of managing and holding a business or group’s intellectual property assets such as patents, trade marks, designs, copy...
We all know of the high-end jewellery brands being counterfeited across the world with hundreds of thousands of counterfeit jewellery items being seized in markets in, and at, the borders of most coun...
Samoa deposited its instrument of accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) on 02 October 2019. Close to 3.5 million PCT applications have been filed since the PCT became operational in 1978 wi...
Jewellery, like all great crafts, is the domain of inspired, talented and creative designers who can blend the magic of metals, precious stones, natural materials and artistry with a vision to reveal...
Throughout history, necklaces, beadwork and jewellery designs have always featured in African culture, as a decorative feature, but more importantly for the symbolism the article conveyed. To this day...
A trade mark is filed based on actual use thereof or an intention to use the trade mark. Where there is no intention to use, a trade mark application may be opposed by an interested party based on tha...
You are heading off to a lecture room, excited to attend this particular lecture as it is taught by your favourite Professor who has a habit of sharing daily pearls of wisdom. He is not just a brillia...
Having a proper patent filing strategy for an invention is crucial to an inventor or applicant. An ideal filing strategy would involve filing patent applications in the countries and jurisdictions whe...
Often knock off products imported into the local South African market replicate well-known brands, and an analysis needs to be done to determine if the owner of the legitimate well-known brand can sue...
The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) been busy at work in the last few months, having issued just under 100 published decisions since it first opened its doors in November 2018, following the liquid...
The International Accounting Standards 38 (IAS 38) defines an intangible asset as: "an identifiable non-monetary asset without physical substance." The International Financial Reporting Standards Comm...
A trade mark shall not be registered, or if registered is liable to be removed from the register, if such mark is:inherently deceptive or likely to deceive or cause confusion;contrary to law;contra bo...
The latest social media trend to go viral is the face-altering software FaceApp, which uses a filter to make users look older.An inspection of FaceApp’s terms of service reveals that users grant FaceA...
Patients often go for second medical opinions, especially when the diagnosis is bad news. The same should go for patentability as well, but inventors often take the first diagnosis to patentability an...
What do you do when your distributor terminates your Supply and Distribution Contract stating that it is more economical for them to acquire the products from another company (Company A)? However, yo...
Patent protection of living organisms, or substances derived from them, has long been a locus of confusion and controversy in law. Recently, however, there has been something of a move towards consens...
Over 150 million people worldwide recently downloaded the very popular FaceApp after Hollywood celebrities started posting images of their edited faces in a social media challenge using the hashtag, #...
Africa, the world’s second largest continent, is home to some of the fastest-growing economies. It has over 50 countries, each with its own set of intellectual property law systems, offering investor...
Patents of Note is a regular series of articles touching on patents that are of interest to the general public.An interesting thing about patent specifications, and one which many people tend to forge...
Have you enlisted the assistance of a third-party graphic designer to create a new logo or corporate identity for your rebrand?Often corporates and start-ups are so excited by the prospect of bringing...
Fans of reality TV shows will be familiar with shows like “Cake Boss”, which pit the worlds best confectioners against each other to produce the most extravagantly and intricately designed and decorat...
The word ‘blockchain’ has garnered much attention over the last few years, with some labelling it as an elaborate scam, while other opportunists made millions during the initial Bitcoin “storm”. Initi...
In 2006, the South African Government introduced a tax-incentive scheme aimed at increasing scientific and technological research and development expenditure by businesses throughout all sectors in So...
The Regulations relating to the Protection of Personal Information 2018 (the Regulations) were published by the Information Regulator on 14 December 2018. Although the POPI Regulations are final, they...
In the past months, I have started really paying attention to every billboard I come across. I find myself stopping on street corners, analysing each word, slogan and logo in an effort to determine th...
It has recently been reported that two IT entrepreneurs from Gugulethu have made an application for an interdict to prevent Nedbank from using, that is, infringing, their invention protected by South...
Filing patents in Africa is often perceived as a minefield of different regional and national laws, whilst it is in fact relatively simple. There are two regional patent offices, covering different te...
South Africa has seen a dramatic rise in entrepreneurial activity with many seeking to launch new products into the marketplace. For some, this means spending most of their time and budget on creating...
It is often said that there is nothing new under the sun, and that re-inventing the wheel is often a futile effort. Intellectual Property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, for example: inventions...
ADR, UDRP and URS. SAIIPL, ICANN, WIPO, MFSD, ADNRC, and NAF. You’re probably confused, aren’t you?What do all of these have in common? They are all legal mechanisms or regulatory bodies established t...
More often than not, business owners do not attend to a trade mark availability search before they register their company name at the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). Section 11...
One of the benefits of trade marks, compared to other forms of intellectual property like patents and copyright, is that a trade mark can be protected in perpetuity. However, in order for this to be...
The cost of obtaining a patent may seem exorbitant for the individual entrepreneur or start-up, but the protection of intellectual property may be critical to the success of the business. Patent attor...
Africa Day is the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity on 25 May 1963.The theme for 2019 is “Healthy Lifestyle Prolongs Life” which was selected to emphasise the...
Fans of the award-winning series, Game of Thrones, were eager to watch the premiere of the long awaited 8th and final season that started on 14 April 2019 and, as is evidenced on social media, has the...
You have an invention that may be patentable. You know by now that secrecy and confidentiality is key to retaining patentability of your invention. To patent an invention, you need to talk to a patent...
The role of Customs in the enforcement of intellectual property rights and the fight against counterfeit goods in AfricaThe demand for branded goods in Africa is growing and, as such, the instances of...
Picture a scenario where you come across a product which is currently trending and children everywhere either have or want one, however, it is only being manufactured and sold by one entity. You purc...
The Oxford Dictionary defines doxing as “Searching for and publishing private or identifying information about a particular individual on the Internet, typically with malicious intent.” The term, whic...
The value of intellectual property assets in companies is often overlooked or underestimated when it comes to licensing, mergers and acquisitions. Mostly, the value of their intellectual property - as...
“Every once in a while, a new technology, an old problem and a big idea turn into an innovation.” – Dean KamenSuch an innovation may cause the inventor to obtain a patent towards the protection thereo...
Eradicating counterfeit goods in the South African market is essential to its economy. The practical consequence of not taking action against the sale of counterfeit goods in the market results in los...
Inventors often (hopefully always) look at ways to protect their inventions to gain the most benefit for them. The first ports of call are invariably patent, design and copyright protection along with...
As most of you already know, Bonang Matheba, one of South Africa’s leading media personalities, launched her own range of sparkling wine (MCC) called “HOUSE OF BNG” on Monday, 18 March 2019.Many celeb...
Patenting of inventions can be notoriously expensive; however, the monopoly attracted because of it has the potential to exceed, by far, any initial patenting costs. The problem remains that a decisio...
Patents of Note is a regular series of articles touching on patents that are of interest to the general public.Recently, a research team from the University of Illinois announced a major breakthrough...
WHAT DO YOU MEME IT IS ILLEGAL TO SHARE MEMES?E Firstly, what is a meme? A meme is an image, video, picture or piece of text that is typically humorous in nature that spreads like wildfire on the Int...
Over the past decade or so, social media has transformed from an entertaining pastime and means for social networking into a modern-day marketing tool, for both franchisors and franchisees alike. Popu...
Certain amendments to the UK Trade Marks Act 1994 and their Trade Mark Rules 2008 came into effect on 14 January 2019. These changes implement the EU Trade Mark Directive 2015 in the UK. In other word...
In 2015, the creators of the YouTube channel, PinkFong, published the Baby Shark music video on its channel. However, it was in 2018 that the song became a global phenomenon, to the extent that it cur...
While we have previously written about the problem of trade marks becoming generic, there has recently been a development in the United Kingdom (originating from the European Union) regarding generic...
Intellectual property rights are divided into a number of different categories, each of which is regulated by its own act, or by the common law. Patents and designs make up two of these categories. Th...
“New year, new me” …well, the second month of 2019 is here which means that our New year’s resolutions are next year’s problem and we are pretty much back to basics. However, if you took the leap and...
