News & Insights
Workshop held on accelerating Ethiopia’s WTO Accession
The Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration recently hosted a workshop in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The workshop focused on Ethiopia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Ethiopian government’s aim of becoming a member of the WTO by December 2026. An expert team of professors from Canada was commissioned by The […]
May 13 2024
Adams & Adams visits eSwatini’s Intellectual Property Office
On 18 April 2024, Menzi Maboyi and Amina Suliman travelled to eSwatini to engage with the Registrar of the IP Office, Dr Celucolo Dluldlu. During our visit, we were able meaningfully to engage on a number of aspects relating to capacity and operational constraints. This included digitisation of the register, Madrid applications, processing times and […]
May 13 2024
Progress towards the regulation of AI and intellectual property rights in Egypt
During April 2024, The Egyptian Ministry of Justice, in association with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the British University in Egypt, recently held an international conference focusing on the impact of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) on intellectual property (“IP”) rights. The conference was attended by ministers, judicial authorities, IP stakeholders, universities, researchers and experts […]
May 13 2024
Relations between ARIPO and CNIPA strengthen
From 8 – 10 April 2024, Director General Bemanya Twebaze of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) visited China to meet with Commissioner Shen Changyu of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). This visit aimed to strengthen the longstanding partnership between ARIPO and CNIPA, initiated in 2007, when a Memorandum of Understanding was […]
May 13 2024
ZUMA ELECTORAL COURT JUDGMENT
Umkhonto Wesizwe Political Party and Another v Electoral Commission of South Africa and Others (0015/24EC) [2024] ZAEC 05 (26 April 2024) On Friday, 26 Aril 2024, the Electoral Court published its heavily anticipated judgment, outlining the reasons for its decision on whether former President Jacob Zuma can contest the polls in the upcoming elections. The […]
April 29 2024
Handy Guide to Buying and Selling Property 2024
Handy Guide to Buying and Selling Property 2024
April 22 2024
A Simple Yet Fatal Restraint of Trade Pitfall for Employers
Restraint of trade agreements safeguard businesses by legally preventing employees from joining competitors, thus protecting businesses’ proprietary information and maintaining their competitive advantage. In an urgent application seeking to enforce a restraint of trade agreement, recently before the Labour Court of South Africa, Johannesburg, an insurance brokerage firm made the fatal error of failing to […]
April 19 2024
Legal entanglements: Navigating the web of law in business
Leon Trotsky is supposed to have said “you may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.”. This may or may not be true in war, but it is certainly true in law. When a person goes into business, they immediately find themselves entangled in law. This is most obvious in the […]
April 17 2024
WHAT’S SO ARB-ITRARY ABOUT ONIONS, PETROLEUM JELLY AND HOT CHILLIES?
Hippo Advert Found Not Suitable For Children Valentine’s Day for Hippo was slightly unconventional this year. Instead of chocolates, flowers and dinner at a fancy restaurant, it involved onions, petroleum jelly, hot chillies and a decision passed down by the Advertising Regulatory Board (the ‘ARB’), the body responsible for regulating the content of advertising in […]
April 16 2024
The Registry updates their NICE classification system to the 12th edition
In January 2024, the Zambia Trade Mark Registry issued a notice regarding the update of the NICE classification system from the 11th edition to the 12th edition. Although the notice did not specify the implementation year, further inquiry with the Registry confirmed they are now using the 12th edition, version 2024. Source: Christopher, Russell Cook […]
April 12 2024
Training workshop on copyright best practices held in Uganda.
On 8 and 9 February 2024, the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) organised a two-day training seminar which included a number of participants such as musicians, authors, publishers, producers, comedians, academia, and collective management organizations, to name a few. Mercy Kainobwisho, The Registrar General of the URSB, emphasised […]
April 12 2024
The Judiciary integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its processes.
On 28 February 2024, the Chief Justice of Tanzania announced the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the country’s judicial processes focusing on court transcriptions and interpretations/translations. Developed the Italian company, Almawave, the AI model is trained in various dialects of Swahili. Over the next four years, the system will be implemented in approximately one […]
April 12 2024
Trade marks office resumes operations
As of 11 February 2024, the Sudanese Trade Marks Office (“TMO”) has resumed operations after nearly a year of closure due to civil unrest. The TMO is now accepting applications for trade mark registrations, renewals, and recordals online. However, examination, publication and acceptance of supporting documents for these applications are pending until the trade mark […]
April 12 2024
The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) experiences a data breach.
The CIPC issued a notice regarding a data breach under section 22 of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”) notifying customers of unauthorised access to their systems on 29 February 2024. Personal information of clients and CIPC employees was accessed and exposed. CIPC has advised that it has taken measures to […]
April 12 2024
AfriPI manager and Director of OAPI discuss IP protection across Africa.
On 1 March 2024, OAPI’s Director General, Mr Denis Bohoussou, met with the new deputy project manager of the Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation in Africa (AfrIPI), Mr Carlos Satorre, marking the beginning of a collaborative effort between the European Union and Africa to boost intra- African trade and facilitate investments for economic growth and […]
April 12 2024
The Trade Marks Office announces updates on renewals
On 25 February 2024, the Libya Trade Mark Office issued Decision No. 335 of 2024 addressing trade mark cancellations, amongst other items. The decision mandates the cancellation of trade marks that have not been renewed within the renewal deadlines outlined in Article 1257 of Commercial Activity Law No. 23 of 2010. Below are the details […]
April 12 2024
Ministry issues updates on the prosecution of trade marks
On 14 February 2024, the Ministry of Commerce and Trade released updated requirements for prosecuting trade marks following the Libya Trade Mark Office’s announcement of the new regulations in January 2024, as reported in our previous article here. The updated requirements for prosecuting trade marks include: Annual renewal of a legalised Power of Attorney, Attestation […]
April 12 2024
Ministry introduces an electronic advertising system for trade marks
On 1 February 2024, the Ministry of Economy and Trade launched the electronic advertising system for trade marks, marking a significant step in digitalising the registration and advertising processes. Mr Mohamed Al -Hawaji, the Minister of Economy and Trade, oversaw the launch. The Ministry aims to complete the electronic declaration process for trade mark applications […]
April 12 2024