News & Insights
Adams & Adams crowned IP Law Firm of 2020
Adams & Adams has been crowned South Africa’s Intellectual Property (IP) Law Firm of 2020. Africa’s largest IP law practice received top honours at the prestigious Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) awards ceremony held on 5 March 2020.
March 05 2020
School deaths on the rise in Gauteng. Is there any legal recourse?
2020 has commenced on a negative note for the Gauteng Department of Education. 18 scholars have died under various circumstances since the beginning of this year. The MEC of Education in the province has expressed his sadness and even went on to call for supernatural intervention.
March 04 2020
Brexit Update | Bye Bye Britain
If your EU marks proceeds to registration before the end of the transitional period, you will automatically be granted mirroring UK national rights. On the other hand, if your applications are still pending at the end of the transitional period, you will have 9 months within which to apply for a mirroring UK application.
February 21 2020
POPI Act is good business practice
Whether the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act is law or not, data protection compliance has become good business practice, largely because of the reputational and financial risk, says Danie Strachan, Adams & Adams Partner.
February 17 2020
Constitutional Damages gains traction as public service delivery dwindles
The discussions surrounding the phenomenon of constitutional damages has been gaining momentum in the past few years.
February 17 2020
Nigeria | A second WIPO External Office in Africa on the horizon
There are currently 6 WIPO External Offices worldwide. The first WIPO External Office in Africa was successfully opened less than a year ago in Algiers, Algeria and preparations for the opening of a second WIPO External Office in Africa are underway.
February 13 2020
Weighing up Africa’s investment potential
A round-up of recent economic, political and legal developments and trends that have taken place in Africa
February 11 2020
Copyright Infringement in Cinematographic Films – TellyTrack versus Marshalls World of Sport (Pty) Ltd
The Supreme Court of Appeal recently delivered an interesting decision dealing with copyright infringement in cinematographic films. What makes the decision particularly noteworthy is the detail the court went into in analysing what constitutes a cinematographic film and determining the elements that make up a cinematographic film.
February 10 2020
EPO decides on AI inventorship
The European Patent Office (EPO) has finally been given, and has taken, an opportunity to pin its colours to the mast on the question of how it would interpret its legal provisions, as they stand, on the naming of inventors in cases where inventions are asserted as having been created by artificial intelligence (AI).
February 05 2020
Is Inventiveness a Matter for Experts?
Is Inventiveness a Matter for Experts? Sandvik v Outokumpu OYJ & another (879/2018) 2019 ZASCA 115 (18 September 2019).
February 03 2020
Bittersweet Symphony IP dispute resolved
The dispute that first piqued my interest in intellectual property law was between The Rolling Stones and The Verve over the song Bittersweet Symphony in the late 1990s. Richard Ashcroft from The Verve, sampled a few seconds from a song by The Rolling Stones to make up the distinctive string melody that plays throughout the track […]
January 26 2020
What are image rights and how are they protected in South Africa?
English rugby club Saracens’ relegation from Premiership Rugby for breaches of the salary cap is the big news in the world of sports law this year. Premiership Rugby’s £7m salary cap was breached by Saracens for three consecutive seasons and was fined £5.3m and docked 35 log points. Saracens will now play their rugby in […]
January 26 2020
The Future of Work and Skills for the Changing Nature of Work | A look at the Legal Profession
The future legal practitioner is required to augment his or her existing legal knowledge with various other skills, including an extensive understanding of the impact of technology.
January 22 2020
Altering Written Agreements Verbally - Don't just 'Shake On It'
A look at the ‘Parol Evidence’ Rule and its implications on verbal amendments to written agreements.
January 22 2020
Understanding Paternity Leave in South Africa
For some time, section 27 of the Basic Conditions Employment Act (“BCEA”) entitled employees to a minimum of four days of family responsibility leave in certain circumstances, for example, when an employee’s child is born. In terms of the recent amendments to the BCEA, the provision entitling an employee to family responsibility leave on the birth of an employee’s child has been repealed (leaving the remainder of section 27 intact).
January 19 2020
The School Uniform Investigation
We take a look at the intended effects of the Competition Commission’s investigation into the pricing of school uniforms and the subsequent agreements signed before the Competition Tribunal in 2019.
January 13 2020
But what about the kids?
When mom and dad decide to get a divorce, the effects on children are frequently often overlooked. What are the responsibilities of the parents and the divorce attorneys?
January 06 2020
Developments in Alcohol Advertising: How We Market Today, Will Determine If We Can Market Tomorrow
On the 28th of January 2020, the Association for Alcohol Responsibility and Education (Aware.org) launched the new Code of Commercial Communications (“new Code”). It replaces the previous Code of Commercial Communication of Aware.org’s predecessor, namely the Industry Association for Responsible Alcohol Use (ARA).
December 31 2019