News & Insights
NIGERIA - The Business Facilitation Act 2023 and its impact on the Nigerian Trade Marks Act
On 14 February 2023 the Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provision) Act 2023 (BFA) was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Act is aimed at facilitating business operations and promoting the ease of doing business in Nigeria. The BFA made amendments to 21 business facilitation laws and also brought about changes to the Nigerian Trade […]
May 18 2023
NIGERIA - Copyright Commission: Anti-piracy campaign
The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has taken a hard line against infringement of literary works by enforcing harsher penalties as part of its national anti-piracy campaign. Mr John Asien, the NCC Director-General, addressed the need to increase enforcement, as well as having the necessary mechanisms in place to ensure the protection of copyright, during a […]
May 18 2023
ARIPO - NOSI's involvement in promoting digital transformation in Africa
During the recent trip to Cape Verde in April 2023, Bemanya Twebaze, Director General of ARIPO, also took the time to visit to the facilities of the Operational Centre of the Information Society (NOSI) in Praia. The Director General indicated that he was very satisfied with the work the institute has done to promote digital […]
May 18 2023
South Africa - 100 Years of Women in Law
Female attorneys, magistrates, judges and prosecutors gathered during the week of 24 to 28 April 2023 at various High Courts and Advocates’ Chambers, to celebrate the centenary of the promulgation of the Women Legal Practitioners Act of 1923, that allowed for the admission of women to the legal profession in South Africa. One of these […]
May 18 2023
TUNISIA - Accession to Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement
The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) confirmed the deposit by the Government of the Republic of Tunisia, on 6 April 2023, of its instruments of accession to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications, which was adopted at Geneva on 20 May 2015. The […]
May 18 2023
KENYA - Kenya and Uganda joining forces to fight counterfeit goods
The Anti-Counterfeit Authority of Kenya (ACA) and Uganda’s Anti-Counterfeit Network (ACN Africa) have signed a memorandum, to fight against the distribution of counterfeit goods across the East African region. According to the World Economic Forum’s estimates, illicit trade currently deprives the global economy of USD 2.2 Trillion annually. The ACN confirmed that Uganda, on its […]
May 18 2023
ARIPO - Prime Minister of Cape Verde to consider ratifying fifth and final ARIPO Protocol
The Director General of ARIPO, Bemanya Twebaze, met with key government stakeholders during his visit to Cape Verde in April 2023. Aside from the Prime Minister, he also engaged with H.E Alexandre Dias Monteiro (Minister of Industry, Trade & Energy), H.E Dr. Rui Alberto Figueiredo Soares (the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation & Regional Integration), […]
May 18 2023
LESOTHO - Celebrating World Intellectual Property Day
On 26 April 2023 Lesotho commemorated World Intellectual Property Day. The day was established by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in 2000 and has since been celebrated annually by its members. The celebration is aimed at creating awareness of the importance of Intellectual Property (IP) and to encourage innovation and creativity in the field […]
May 18 2023
KENYA - Terik Community partners with KEMRI to create a new deworming product based on traditional indigenous knowledge
The Kenyan Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) has, in partnership with Terik Essential Programs Agency for Development (TEPAD), created a deworming porridge which formed part of an initiative of the Terik Community’s schools. The product, Ujiplus, is a porridge consisting of herbal deworming properties derived from the community’s traditional herbal practices. The community sought to partner […]
May 18 2023
Court Upholds Exceptions: Auditor and Compliance Officer Cleared in Lawsuit Instituted Against Intermediary and Statutory Officers.
A few years ago, several well-known short-term insurance companies took legal action against an intermediary company due to the damages they incurred as a result of the intermediary’s collapse. The intermediary, presently in liquidation, was responsible for the collecting and accounting of premiums owed to the insurers. Surprisingly or some might even contend strangely, the […]
May 17 2023
One work to rule them all?
Battle lines have recently been drawn, after fan fiction writer, Demetrious Polychron, filed a 250-million-dollar lawsuit against the Tolkien Estate and Amazon on the basis of copyright infringement. Mr Polychron claims that his novel, The Fellowship of the King, which draws inspiration from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, is a wholly original book and concept […]
May 17 2023
Insurance and Compliance: The Importance of Certificates of Compliance for Solar Systems and Inverters in South Africa
Insurance policies often contain a standard clause requiring policyholders to comply with the laws of the country where the policy is issued. The intention behind the clause is to ensure that policyholders act in a lawful manner. Failure to comply may lead to policy exclusions or the denial of claims. With the current energy crisis […]
May 17 2023
Does a duty to disclose to your insurer cease? If so, when?
The parties to an insurance contract all have a legal duty to disclose. All the material information must be disclosed. This sounds simple enough, however, this is not so in real life. This is evidenced by the fact that there is plethora of court cases that relate to the issue of non-disclosure. The substance of […]
May 16 2023
Ed Sheeran two-steps to victory in copyright dispute across the pond
Ed Sheeran’s victories continue to multiply, after a New York jury recently ruled that his song, Thinking Out Loud, does not infringe the copyright of well-known American song, Let’s Get It On, written by Marvin Gaye and Ed Townsend. This 100-million-dollar claim was first brought by Townsend’s heirs in 2017 against Sheeran, his records label, […]
May 10 2023
Grave Risks for Lawyers Relying on ChatGPT!
Development, growth, and advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is progressing at a rapid speed. ChatGPT is one such chatbot that has taken the internet space by storm. There have been robust debates around the potential effects of ChatGPT across various tertiary institutions, different professional bodies, and various other institutions. There are also serious concerns about […]
May 05 2023
Brands in Africa: the dos and the don’ts
Africa is a vast continent and is often underestimated, both from a business but also from a brand protection perspective. Africa’s land mass exceeds that of India, China, the United States and Europe combined. It is also the second most populous continent, with over 1.3 billion people – or about 16.5% of the world’s population. […]
May 04 2023
Recent Developments in the NFT, Metaverse and Web 3 space
As technology continues to advance, the digital landscape is constantly evolving, presenting new opportunities and challenges for Intellectual Property (IP) law. There have been notable developments involving the interplay between Intellectual Property, Non-Fungible Tokens (“NFTs”), and the Metaverse, since the publication of our previous article on the topic. Firstly, the Hermès v Rothschild case, which […]
May 04 2023
100 Years of Women in Legal Practice
The 10th of April 2023 marked 100 years since the Woman Legal Practitioners Act 7 of 1923 was promulgated. The Act contained a single section, which read: “Women shall be entitled to be admitted to practice and to be enrolled as advocates, attorneys, notaries public or conveyancers in any province of the Union, subject to […]
May 03 2023