News & Insights
Blockchain | Friend or Foe of the Patent System?
The rise of blockchain technology, and particularly cryptocurrencies, has influenced various aspects of the global economy and the technological landscape. But while blockchain technology could benefit the patent system, it may also challenge the patent system or hurt its credibility.
October 23 2018
How does surrogacy work in South Africa?
Robbie Williams and Ayda Field have welcomed a third child together via a surrogate after a "long and difficult" struggle to have another baby. How does surrogacy work in South Africa?
September 12 2018
SHARING IS NOT CARING – IT’S IN YOUR NDA
Do not disclose confidential information, new designs, ideas or inventions without appropriate protection in place – a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
September 10 2018
OMG! CAN YOU JUST BE CHILL!?
OMG, OMFG, WTF!?, COOL AF – offensive and inappropriate or effing cool taglines? This is a question that was recently considered by the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa in Typo Stationery / Kathrine Marsden & Another / 2018-809F. Popular stationery store, Typo, advertised a sparkle ball point pen. The advertisement consisted of an image […]
August 26 2018
A NO-NONSENSE GUIDE TO THE LEGAL ASPECTS OF FRANCHISING
A Franchise Agreement is a sophisticated form of Licence Agreement. It is therefore necessary to first look briefly at what a license is and what can be licensed. The image below sets out the essentials of a License Agreement. You will note that at the core, it is a contractual business relationship between a licensor […]
August 26 2018
WITH THIS AGREEMENT I THEE WED. AND PROTECT
Planning your ‘happily-ever-after’ is no easy feat. Between finding a venue, coming up with a world war-thwarting seating plan and orchestrating photography and flowers, couples find themselves managing a lot during the engagement period. Understandably then, the conclusion of the marriage agreement between two persons hardly receives the due consideration and attention it requires. For […]
July 30 2018
PATENT LITIGATION IN SOUTH AFRICA | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Did you know that patent matters in South Africa are adjudicated in a specialised court: the Court of the Commissioner of Patents? The Commissioner effectively has the powers of a High Court judge and the specialised court functions in a very similar way to a division of the South African High Court. The Commissioner has […]
July 29 2018
BURNBERRY | PRODUCT DESTRUCTION AS IP STRATEGY
Luxury British clothing brand BURBERRY recently ‘came under fire‘ for destroying clothing items worth more than £28 million (almost R500 million). It is no secret that well-known and highly coveted brands spend millions on advertising, promoting and protecting their brands and Burberry is no different. Burberry’s history dates back to 1856 and its iconic Burberry […]
July 29 2018
Who owns the Roger Federer RF monogram trade mark?
While you channel hop between the FIFA World Cup and the tennis you may have noticed that Roger Federer is no longer resplendent in Nike apparel at Wimbledon this year and is now sponsored by the Japanese brand Uniqlo (he still wears Nike shoes though). We were very interested to read the article on the […]
July 08 2018
How Intellectual Property Rights are Human Rights
In Part One of this series of articles we introduced the concept of cultural appropriation and provided an explanation of why it sits uncomfortably with most of us. In Part Two we discussed the power dynamics at play and whether that power-balance has been struck in the current IP legislation we see internationally. This article by Myriam […]
July 07 2018
COPYRIGHT IN TATTOOS | A PRICKLY LEGAL QUESTION
Would it ever occur to you that a third party might be able to claim rights in your skin? In the case of art that has been inked into your skin, namely tattoo art, that may well be the case. A tattoo is an artistic work. If it is original and reduced to a material […]
June 03 2018
SOUTHERN SUN 'SQUARES OFF' AGAINST NAMIBIAN BRAND OFFENDER
Author: Kareema Shaik The Namibian High Court recently issued a decision (read the decision here) dealing with passing-off and copyright infringement in the matter of Southern Sun Africa (First Applicant) & Southern Sun Hotel Interests (Pty) Limited (Second Applicant) and Sun Square Hotel (Pty) Limited (Respondent). The Applicants form part of the well-known South African […]
May 31 2018
THOU SHALL NOT LIE - EVEN FOR LOVE
Earlier this year eHarmony Ltd (an online dating website) had one of its advertisements banned by the ASA in the United Kingdom for being untruthful – about love. The advertisement was a billboard on a London Underground platform and read: “Step aside, fate. It’s time science had a go at love.” It was complained to […]
May 30 2018
PHOTOBOMBED? PROTECTING YOUR COPYRIGHT
It was reported some time ago that a photographer named Shaun Earl Harris is suing the South African government for an astonishing amount of R2.1 billion for copyright infringement relating to the government’s alleged unauthorised use of a photograph featuring Nelson Mandela that Mr. Harris had taken. Mr. Harris made an impactful statement that got […]
May 29 2018
Power dynamics and IP laws | Is the balance fairly struck by current IP legislation?
Part one of this series by Myriam Christmann was titled The Thorny Issue of Cultural Appropriation and served as an introduction to the topic in general and introduced the idea that the remedy to widespread cultural appropriation could be achieved through carefully-drafted intellectual property laws. This post is an overview of the developments that led to the […]
May 21 2018
REPORT | THE APPLICABILITY OF THE MADRID SYSTEM IN AFRICA
Although the Madrid system functions very well in most countries outside of Africa where IP laws are at similar stages of development and IP Offices utilise advanced technologies and maintain digital registers and systems, the reliance on the Madrid-system in most African countries carries with it a degree of commercial risk (the level of which […]
May 15 2018
THE DISTRIBUTION AND MARKETING OF MEDICINES IN SOUTH AFRICA
Author: Jenny Pienaar The commercialisation of pharmaceutical products has become more complex as the competitive and regulatory environment has evolved. Today, regulatory regimes not only aim to protect public health and to ensure that there is robust data to support the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical products, but also to limit expenditure on pharmaceutical products […]
May 08 2018
The Thorny Issue of Cultural Appropriation
In the South African context, we are regularly confronted by examples of what is labelled as “cultural appropriation”. What is cultural appropriation and where is the line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation? In this guest post (the first in a series of posts on this topic), Myriam Christmann introduces us to the concept and […]
May 06 2018