News & Insights
Gaga over Labubu
Labubu, first a mystical book creature and creation of Kasing Lung, recently took the world by storm as a collectible plush toy, developed and marketed by Pop Mart. The appeal has been driven by limited-editions, themed-collections and blind box buys. Social media influencers have added to the hype and status of the toy by unveiling […]
June 25 2025
The Price of Misrepresentation: Warranties and the Cost of Error
Brief Facts of the Case The matter arose from a contractual dispute between a motor vehicle dealership (the Plaintiff) and a retired police officer (the Defendant). The Defendant entered into a written agreement to purchase a pre-owned vehicle from the Plaintiff, trading in his own vehicle as part of the transaction. The Defendant represented, both […]
June 25 2025
Supreme Court Rules Authentic Designer Goods Can't Be Called Counterfeit: will the real Enrico Coveri please stand up?
South Africa’s highest court has delivered a landmark ruling that authentic designer goods cannot be seized as counterfeits, even when imported without permission from local trade mark holders. The Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Yossi Barel, who holds the South African trade mark rights to the ENRICO COVERI brand, after he attempted […]
June 24 2025
THE WHO’S WHO IN DIVORCES
The legal jargon used by legal practitioners is often confusing, used out of context or simply not understood. With the increasing number of marriages that end in divorce, some of these terms and phrases are often repeated at a weekend “braai” or other social event when people discuss their own divorce or that of a […]
June 24 2025
US Court Holds Email Notice of Intent to File Third-Party Joinder Constitutes a "Claim" When Sent, Not When Read, Under Claims-Made Policy
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has recently held that a letter notifying the insured of the sender’s intent to institute a third-party joinder against it constituted a Claim under the insured’s claims-made professional liability insurance policy. Factual Background and Policy Context The insured healthcare staffing agency provided staff to […]
June 18 2025
A SANGUINARY PROBLEM
Similarly to the British Patents Act and the European Patent Convention, the South African Patents Act excludes from patentability a method of treatment by therapy of the animal or human body. A question that can arise is whether any method implemented outside of a patient’s body could ever be construed as relating to a method […]
June 18 2025
Large investments in the Creative Economy
At a press briefing in Abuja, the Ministry of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy announced the launch of a two hundred million US dollar Creative Economy Development Fund, as well as three hundred million US dollar in investment commitments. The Fund, which is to be managed by AfreximBank, is intended to provide financing for […]
June 18 2025
THE DUPE DILEMMA
The global industry is awash in “dupes”, cheaper alternatives that mimic the look and feel of popular high-end products. Dupes thrive in an economy where consumers crave the taste of luxury at budget prices. Social media has supercharged the rise of dupes, where a single viral video can undercut sales of a cult-favourite product overnight. […]
June 16 2025
Shop manager fined for selling fake Mobile Phones
The manager of a cellphone accessory shop in Gqeberha was fined R 87 000 (around 4900 USD) for selling counterfeit mobile phone products. The manager pleaded guilty to charges under the Counterfeit Goods Act and the Trademarks Act, after a search at the store uncovered over a hundred counterfeit items. The items included adapters, car […]
June 16 2025
OAPI-AGF partnership to finance a thousand innovative African projects by 2030
The African Organization for Intellectual Property (OAPI) and the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) have launched an ambitious initiative to finance a thousand innovative projects across several African countries by 2030. The partnership includes a large capital investment by OAPI in the AGF, as well as a guarantee window covering up to 75% of loan risks […]
June 16 2025
Nigerian Copyright Commission and Nigerian film industry join forces to fight digital piracy
At an event in Abuja, the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and representatives from the Nigerian movie industry formed a united front on the issue of digital piracy. The event, which marked the launch of a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)-supported project to develop strategies and tools to tackle online copyright piracy in the African digital […]
June 16 2025
Nigerian Copyright Commission confiscates $250 000 of pirated works in seven months
The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has confiscated pirated works worth more than 250 000 USD over a seven-month period, from October 2024 to May 2025. This was disclosed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, at a stakeholder event in Abuja. The NCC reportedly conducted 120 monitoring, documentation, […]
June 16 2025
Mauritius joins ARIPO
On 27 May 2025, the Republic of Mauritius deposited its Instrument of Accession to the Harare Protocol on Patents, Utility Models, and Industrial Designs, becoming the 21st ARIPO Member State. The accession will take effect on 27 August 2025, after which ARIPO patent and design applications can be extended to ARIPO. Joining ARIPO is a […]
June 16 2025
Liberia signs Memorandum of Understanding with Multichoice® Africa, Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Sport, and the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Authority
The last month has seen multiple countries on the African continent leading the charge against copyright infringers and content pirates. This includes announcements by the Commerce Ministry in Liberia, as well as the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Ethiopia between MultiChoice® Africa, the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Sport (MOCS), as well […]
June 16 2025
Commerce Ministry warns copyright pirates
In a statement, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry warned Liberian businesses against the unauthorised commercial use of copyrighted works. In doing so, the Ministry cited widespread violations of the country’s Intellectual Property Act and emphasised that suitable licences must be obtained before making use of any copyrighted works. To reinforce Liberia’s commitment to its […]
June 16 2025
Inventor Assistance Program bears fruit
Kenya’s Inventor Assistance Program (IAP) is beginning to show results, with nineteen applications submitted since its launch in 2023. The program, initiated by the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), aims to connect inventors and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises with patent specialists who offer free support. […]
June 16 2025
Ant smugglers sentenced
In a case that presumably shocked myrmecologists and the hobby ant husbandry community, two Belgian nationals were sentenced to a fine of over seven thousand five hundred US dollar or a year in prison each, for the attempted smuggling of around five thousand ant queens from Nakuru, Kenya. The pair were charged in terms of […]
June 16 2025
Artists highlight compensation practices by Collective Management Organisations and digital platforms
In a statement representing Kenyan artists at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Kenyan musician and actress Nikita Kering called on the AU to address the issue of unfair pay from Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) and digital platforms, and to push for stronger AU support in protecting the artists’ intellectual property. The statement […]
June 16 2025