News & Insights
Partial Patent Waiver for COVID-19 vaccines
Participating countries attending the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland reached an agreement on 17 June 2022 to partially waive intellectual property restrictions on the manufacture and production of COVID-19 vaccines for the next five years. The partial waiver provides that developing nations may authorise the use of the […]
July 13 2022
TUNISIA - Days of Copyright and Neighbouring Rights
The “Tunisian Days of Copyright and Neighbouring Rights”, a promotion of the culture of copyright and related rights, was held from 3-5 June 2022 in Tunis. It is a programme organised by the Tunisian Organization of Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (OTDAV) in partnership with the Tunis Opera Theater and the Union of Tunisian Visual Artists […]
July 13 2022
RWANDA - Construction of mRNA production facility begins
Construction of the first state-of-the-art BioNTech mRNA production facility in Africa begun in Kigali on 23 June 2022. BioNTech co-developed the first approved mRNA-based vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine) and is setting up the facility as part of a decentralised pan-African end-to-end manufacturing network. The facility will be able to manufacture a range of mRNA-based vaccines […]
July 13 2022
Kenya: Mandatory recordal of IP rights for imported goods
Kenya has taken recent measures regarding anti-counterfeiting to be implemented by the Anti-Counterfeiting Authority (ACA). The ACA issued two public notices (No.1/2022 and No.2/2022) on 26 April 2022 requiring that all intellectual property rights for goods imported into Kenya must be recorded with the ACA starting from 1 July 2022, with an extended deadline of […]
July 13 2022
OAPI - Training of patent examiners
In cooperation with the European Patent Office (EPO) and the AfrIPI project, participants of the OAPI Distance Training for Patent Examiners began their second training session on 7 June 2022. The programme aims to strengthen the capacity of patent examiners to substantively exam patent applications and utility models. Substantive examination is scheduled to begin in […]
July 13 2022
OAPI - Mandate renewal of Director-General Denis Bohoussou Loukou as CEO
The Board of Directors of OAPI have granted a second and final term to Director-General Denis Bohoussou Loukou as the head of OAPI. His first term of office ended in a crisis with his suspension on 14 October 2021 by the President of the Board of Directors, Beninese Alimatou Shadiya Assouman, on the grounds of […]
July 13 2022
OAPI - Establishment of collaborative work platforms
A ceremony to launch the third series of round tables on the establishment of collaborative work platforms between universities and research centers in OAPI member states was held on 16 June 2022. The project aims to identify specific avenues and themes for the creation and improvement of national innovation frameworks between the private and research […]
July 13 2022
African Development Bank to establish African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation
The African Development Bank has approved the establishment of the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation, which aims to promote Africa’s access to technologies for the manufacture of medicines, vaccines and other pharmaceutical products. The African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation will be hosted by Rwanda and will include experts on pharmaceutical innovation and development, intellectual property rights and […]
July 13 2022
OAPI - Abidjan ministerial conference on Geographical Indications
The opening ceremony of the Abidjan Ministerial Conference on Geographical Indications was held on 3 June 2022 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and was attended by the Ministers of the 17 member states of OAPI, the Diplomatic Corps, the Director General of the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) of France, and the Deputy Director General […]
July 13 2022
Nigeria to launch a blockchain-based intellectual property exchange marketplace
The Nigerian government has entered into a 3-year exclusive intellectual property right agreement with Developing Africa Group (DAG), a UK-based intellectual property rights commercialisation organisation, to build a national wallet for the commercialization of registered intellectual property. Users in Nigeria will be able to upload any registered intellectual property rights to the platform where they can trade, […]
July 13 2022
NIGERIA - Court rules that National Broadcasting Commision cannot regulate advertising
The Federal High Court in Lagos has held that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) acted beyond its powers by seeking to regulate advertising in Nigeria, which is contrary to the provision of the Advertising Practitioners Act of 2004. Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa held that the NBC lacks the power to prohibit exclusivity on privately acquired intellectual […]
July 13 2022
NIGERIA - Brand Africa 100 awards
Brand Africa hosted the 12th annual Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands 2022 awards in Lagos, Nigeria on 26 May 2022, ranking the top 100 most admired brands in Africa. African brands have increased by 4-17% from an all-time low of 13% in 2020 and 2021. South Africa’s lifestyle footwear brands, Bathu ranked at number 52 and Drip at number […]
July 13 2022
Zambia makes trade mark data available online
The Patents and Companies Registration Agency of Zambia (PACRA) has made its trade mark data of more than 60 000 trade marks available online on the TMview search tool from 13 June 2022. TMview now contains data from 77 participating offices and provides information and access to more than 106,5 million trade marks. TMview was […]
July 13 2022
KENYA - MultiChoice Kenya wins court battle against piracy
MultiChoice Kenya has won a court battle against internet service providers Safaricom and Jamii Telecom after the High Court issued a directive ordering them to take down pirated content. MultiChoice Kenya filed the case in 2019 seeking to compel the internet service providers to block live streaming of sports on its networks after it had […]
July 13 2022
To Substitute, or Not to Substitute: When will the court grant a substitution order?
The South African courts have seen a rise in litigation dealing with substitution orders, within the area of public procurement law, since the seminal Constitutional Court judgement of Trencon Construction (Pty) Limited v Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Limited 2015 (5) SA 245 (CC) (“Trencon”). Despite this rise, it would seem that orders of […]
July 06 2022
INSURANCE LAW: SIGNIFICANCE OF FIRE INSURANCE AS WINTER WILDFIRES LIKELY TO BREAKOUT
As if there have not been enough fires in the country for 2022, there is an expected rise in wildfires as the winter season is in full swing. With strong and harsh winds that naturally come in the month of July, wildfires are to be expected and businesses and individuals alike will need to be […]
July 05 2022
THE LAUNCH OF THE LEGAL SERVICES OMBUD IN SOUTH AFRICA
Most South Africans are not aware of the different platforms available to them in situations when they are aggrieved by the conduct of a legal practitioner. Some of these platforms are more expensive than others, depending on various factors which differ from case to case. One of the most recently introduced platforms is the Legal […]
June 28 2022
Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyers: Why They Are Important for Success
Mergers are complicated and to be properly implemented they require mergers and acquisitions lawyers that have a lot of experience and knowledge of the legalities surrounding mergers. Whether it is to draft and implement agreements between the merging companies, or to assist in the compliance of the merger, a mergers and acquisitions lawyer is essential. […]
June 27 2022