With effect of 1st August 2023, Mr. Benson Mpalo was appointed as the Registrar and Chief Executive Offices of the Board of the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (“PACRA”) in Zambia. Mr. Mpalo joins PACRA as a legal practitioner and Advocate of the Superior...
Africa General
SÃO TOMÉ & PRINCIPE – Accession to the Geneva Act of Lisbon Agreements on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indicators
The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) recently confirmed the deposit by the Democratic Republic of São Tomé & Principe on 2nd August 2023 of the instrument of accession to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations...
KENYA – Rapper Bamboo awarded Sh4.5 Milliion (US$38500) in copyright dispute.
After nine (9) years, Simon Kimani, more commonly known by his fans as Bamboo, a popular rapper now turned preacher, has been awarded Sh 4 500 000 (approximately US$38500) for Copyright infringement by one of Kenya’s leading telecommunications companies. The...
GHANA – Proposed Ghana Industrial Property Office Bill, 2023
New legislation has been proposed to establish a new Industrial Property Office in Ghana. The Ghana Industrial Property Office Bill, 2023 (“the Bill”) is currently pending before Parliament and has a way to go in the parliamentary process before the Bill can be...
EGYPT – Establishment of the Egyptian Organisation for Intellectual Property Rights
Following the launch of Egypt’s National Intellectual Property strategy by Prime Minister Moustfa Madbouly in September 2022, Law No. 163 of 2023 was recently ratified by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and officially published in the Official Gazette on 13th August...
Kenyan Anti-Counterfeiting Authority – PUBLIC NOTICE No 1/2023
In December 2022 and in line with its proposed phased approach, the ACA published a list of HS codes for goods which have been categorized under phase one of the implementation process and now require ACA import permit application starting 1st January 2023. The HS...
Nigeria enacts new Copyright Act
Nigeria enacts Copyright Act, 2022 to repeal the Copyright Act, 2004 The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, signed the Copyright Bill, 2022 into law on 17 March 2023. This Act, that will presumably be known as the Copyright Act of 2023, repeals the Copyright Act...
UGANDA: Workshop with WIPO on IP for Small and Medium Enterprises
From 23 to 24 February 2023, WIPO, in collaboration with Uganda Registration Services Bureau and ARIPO, held a national workshop on intellectual property for small and medium enterprises in Uganda, Kampala. The aim of the workshop was to bring awareness to the...
TANZANIA: Wilmar Resources Pte Ltd V Tiffany & Co. (well-known trademarks)
Wilmer Resources Pte Limited (“the Applicant”), a company incorporated under the laws of Singapore, applied to register the trade mark TIFFANY in Tanzania in classes 3 and 5. The trade mark applications were opposed by Tiffany & Co. (“the Opponent”), the luxury...
LESOTHO: Consultation with WIPO on National Intellectual Property Policy
From 20 February to 30 March 2023, Lesotho will be hosting a team of experts from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). The visit is said to be for the purposes of providing technical assistance and support in the formulation of the country’s National...
How can we help you?
We have offices in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban, please contact your nearest office for any legal enquiry or assistance.