News & Insights
Will South Africans Soon Be Smoking Their New, PBR-Protected Cannabis Varieties?
Cannabis (which has many names in South Africa, including “dagga”, “grass”, “boom”, “dope”, “skyf”, “weed” and “Durban poison”) is South Africa’s most commonly used drug. It is cheap, and apparently freely available if you know where to look. In 2018, our Constitutional Court ruled that the use of cannabis was legal for personal and medical […]
November 02 2021
Holding Insurance Brokers Legally Responsible for a Repudiated Insurance Claim
INTRODUCTION Businesses always strive to have sufficient insurance cover for all and any possible perils. For this, they are willing to spend a lot of money. It is for this reason that when an insured peril occurs, they realistically and reasonably expect their insurers to pay out and/or repair the damage. Unfortunately, this is not […]
November 02 2021
The Force Majeure Clause: A Brief Explanation
When signing a contract, one cannot predict whether certain circumstances will arise or not. No one expected the occurrence of COVID-19, yet it had a devastating effect on the global economy, leading to widespread unemployment. Force majeure is a common clause within contracts that accounts for “acts of God” – the events and circumstances that […]
November 02 2021
Trademark Registration Process in South Africa
The purpose of a trade mark is to distinguish one business from that of another and it, in effect, provides a business with protection from third party infringement or copying. This is because, if two entities operating in the same trading channels use identical or similar branding consumer confusion could occur in the trade. As […]
November 02 2021
The Competition Commission & OIPMI - Full Steam Ahead
On the 19th of May 2021, the South African Competition Commission (“Commission”) formally initiated a market inquiry into the online intermediation platform market (“OIPMI”) in terms of Section 43B(i)(a) of the Competition Act, 89 of 1998 (“the Act”). The Commission released a Statement of Issues and extensively engaged with stakeholders both through Requests for Information […]
November 02 2021
Children Consenting Age to Medical Treatment
INTRODUCTION The government’s efforts to drive the vaccination program towards herd immunity are still ongoing. This is obviously not without hurdles, especially as most people are still hesitant to vaccinate due to various reasons. The government, for most part, has been targeting adults for vaccination, though it seems like children (below age 18 but 12 […]
November 02 2021
The Thespian’s Toe’s vs RAF
An injury to a person’s toes would not necessarily be regarded as a serious injury in a claim against the Road Accident Fund, unless you are a male thespian. A thespian was a passenger in a motor vehicle collision as a result of which he suffered open right metatarsal fractures and a malunion of the […]
November 02 2021
AI as Inventor Article
Recently, South Africa obtained notoriety in its patent office being the first in the world to grant a patent in which an artificial intelligence (AI) is identified as the inventor (the South African Patent). As is widely known, the South African patent office does not examine patent applications substantively. Patent applications are only examined for […]
October 19 2021
Uganda - Registrar Issues Notices to Renew Expired Trade Marks
The Uganda Registration Service Bureau (URSB) issued public notices calling for the renewal of expired trade mark registrations. The notices, which were published in the New Vision newspaper on 25 May 2021 and 15 June 2021, call upon proprietors of expired trade mark registrations to renew their marks within 30 days from the date of […]
October 11 2021
Uganda - Trademark Regulations Amendment
On 5th February 2021, Uganda published their Trademark (Amendment) Regulations No. 9 of 2021 (the Amendment))[1] which amends Trademark Regulations No.58 of 2012 (the Regulations). The Amendment brings changes that address shortcomings to some practical aspects of the Trademarks Act No.17, 2010 (the Act) and it also aligns Uganda’s trademark practise with international trademark standards. […]
October 07 2021
ARIPO - Accession of The Republic of Seychelles to the Harare Protocol
The President of the Republic of Seychelles H.E. Wavel Ramkalawan, signed the instrument of accession to the Harare Protocol on 26th August 2021 which was received by ARIPO on 1 October 2021. As such, the Republic of Seychelles will become the 21st ARIPO Member State and with effect from 1 January 2022, applicants for ARIPO patent, design and […]
October 07 2021
The MEC for Health Can Raise a Public Healthcare Defence Subsequent to the Determination of Liability
The Constitutional Court in Member of the Executive Council for Health, Gauteng Provincial Government v PN recently confirmed that where a court grants an order disposing of the issue of merits in terms of Rule 33(4) of the Uniform Rules of Court, the terms of the aforesaid order do not preclude the MEC for Health […]
October 06 2021
Zanzibar - Yimei Hotel vs MHG IP Holding
In November 2018, Yimei Hotel Management (Shenzhen) Limited (“the Applicant”) applied to register trade mark no. ZN/S/2018/461 as a service mark in class 43. The mark was published for opposition purposes and an opposition was filed against its registration by MHG IP Holding (Singapore) PTE LTD (“the Opponent”). The Opponent relied upon its earlier registration […]
October 05 2021
The Road Accident Fund Act: Who is Entitled to a Claim and What Can Be Claimed?
We have, over the years, become so accustomed to reading, hearing or even witnessing the firsthand aftermath of horrific motor vehicle accidents on South African roads, that we perhaps don’t immediately realise the full extent of the psychological, social and financial implications of these accidents on those directly or indirectly affected. These devastating effects often […]
October 05 2021
South Africa - Copies of Supporting Documents Now Accepted by the Registrar of Patents
Traditionally, formal documents (i.e. Forms P.3/D.3, P.26 and assignments) for filing in support of patent and design applications had to be executed by way of an original/wet signature. However, the Registrar has recently issued a practice note setting out a number of changes in procedure including the Registrar ‘s discretion to accept assignment documents or […]
October 01 2021
A Fast Way to Lose Your Patent Rights - The Tortoise and the Hare - A Lesson Applicable to South African Patent Prosection
Prejudice lurks in expediting grant of patents based on local formality examination alone Recent reports of a sharp increase in the number of South African patent applications that are being filed along with requests for expedited acceptance brings to mind the well-known fable of the tortoise and the hare. The hare, confident in the superiority […]
September 30 2021
Zimbabwe - ZIPO Making Headway Despite Operational Constraints
Although the Zimbabwe Intellectual Property Office (ZIPO) has welcomed the fact that its Industrial Property Automated System (IPAS) is up and running again, the Registry’s operations were severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Zimbabwe is one of the countries entering the third wave and is currently in lockdown. As such, ZIPO is operating with a […]
September 30 2021
OAPI - Launch of Pilot Project to Test a New Online System Delayed
In December 2020, the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) announced the launch of a pilot project to test a new online filing system (e-filing platform). The initial plan was to test the system amongst 6 firms (including our local Associate office) prior to a wider launch. However, the launch has been delayed, largely due to […]
September 29 2021