Darren Olivier

The enforcement of “lockdown” by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 27 March brings with it much uncertainty and unchartered territory, in all aspects of life.  The full extent of this worldwide pandemic is yet to be seen, understood or experienced.  Uncertainty is at the forefront of the thoughts of most people.

The appellant, Cochrane Steel Products (Pty) Ltd (“Cochrane”), applied for the registration of the mark ‘CLEARVU’ in two classes: Class 6 in relation to “non-electric cables and wires of common metal; metal fences; metal mesh; pipes and tubes of metal; and Class 37 in relation to “building, construction, repair and installation services. The above trade […]

A new political party has just emerged in South Africa and it is called the African Democratic Change (ADeC) lead by Dr Makhozi Khoza. Its new logo (above) has caused some outcry and much attention for the new party for obvious reasons. On the left-hand side is the logo of the ANC and on the right-hand side, […]

A new political party has just emerged in South Africa and it is called the African Democratic Change (ADeC) lead by Dr Makhozi Khoza. Its new logo (above) has caused some outcry and much attention for the new party for obvious reasons. On the left-hand side is the logo of the ANC and on the […]

Iman Rappetti talks to Partner, Darren Olivier, and Associate, Maureen Makoko, about the upcoming Adams & Adams IP Evening Series, as well as the recent controversy over Basotho designs and well known fashion house Louis Vuitton as a case study. At a recent IP Evening Series event in Soweto, Darren explained that “fashion and crafts are a […]

In June 2016, The Protection of Traditional Knowledge, Genetic Resources and Expressions of Folklore Act, 20161 (“the Act”) came into force in Zambia. The Act’s preamble indicates that the aim is to: provide for a transparent legal framework for the protection of, access to, and use of traditional knowledge, genetic resources and expressions of folklore […]

This is the first post of a series dealing with the role of IP in corporate governance in the wake of the launch of the KingIV report in South Africa by the Institute of Directors earlier this week. The conference had well over 1000 business leaders based in Gauteng and a stellar line-up of speakers. […]

Adams & Adams COO, Dave Forbes talks to Jacaranda FM about the significance of the firm’s involvement in the second Sun International CEO SleepOut™

The Sun International CEO SleepOut™ Event is officially a ‘Protected Event’. Following an extensive application and thorough consideration, the Minister of Trade & Industry, Rob Davies, has declared the 2016 CEO SleepOut™ Event a protected event, under S15 of the Merchandise Mark Act 17 of 1941. This elevates the status of The CEO SleepOut™ Event to […]

On 09 June, Adams & Adams had the pleasure of welcoming Pavlo Phitidis Aurik Business Accelorator to join a panel discussion with Darren Olivier Partner and Ashlin Perumall Senior Associate about the implications of the ‘Please Call Me’ judgment for businesses in South Africa.

The almost hundred page judgment from the constitutional court makes for exciting, and laborious reading – at least to an IP attorney. Exciting in the sense that it documents a brilliant idea coming from a modest yet determined man in the accounting department of a telecoms behemoth and his fifteen year battle for justice all […]

The front page headline in the Wall Street Journal a few years ago stated boldly “Charity Brawl: Nonprofits Aren’t So Generous When a Name’s at Stake” referring to the stinging criticism received by a celebrated charity for enforcing their rights over part of their name. The palaver prompted a retort from Dan Pallotta, renown philanthropist […]

This article entitled “What can we expect in Gordhan’s Budget” published by Independent Online and citing Bloomberg as author predicts a difficult speech for the Finance Minister who needs “must contend with dwindling revenue as commodity prices plunge, the worst drought in more than a century and slowing economic growth”. There is of course no […]

The events surrounding the controversial racial remarks published on the personal social media accounts of various well-known offender

PowerTalk | PowerFM’s Iman Rappetti talks to A&A’s Darren Olivier about ways of protecting your ideas or your inventions when making presentations to potential investors or clients.

In this case Cochrane Steel Products sought an interdict against the M-Systems for bidding on its brand name CLEAR VU as a Google Adwords search keyword. The applicant did not have a trade mark registration for its mark and accordingly relied on unlawful competition. Specifically, it alleged passing off and a new species of unlawful competition, […]

PowerTalk | PowerFM’s Iman Rappetti talks to A&A’s Darren Olivier about IP and protecting and nurturing our Heritage. Also joining the conversation are the Steve Biko Foundation, the Nat Nakasa Foundation and the Victor Ntoni Foundation.

PowerTalk | PowerFM’s Iman Rappetti talks to A&A’s Darren Olivier, Ian Learmonth and Ashlin Perumall about the Ashley Madison ‘affair’ generally and what it means – and corporate and personal strategies for reputation management and trade secret protection (how to prevent leakage occurring and practical steps if leakage has occurred).

PowerTalk | PowerFM’s Iman Rappetti talks to A&A’s Darren Olivier about the struggle by Street Artists who don’t know how to protect their designs and creativity.

Ask just about any IP lawyer and they will probably tell you that if you sub contract the development of your logo, you will not own the copyright in the logo. You will not even have the exclusive right to use it. This is because of the general rule that, subject to a list of […]

To many the trade mark is simply a document that records a business name at the local trade mark office. It’s not compulsory and it takes so long to obtain, that it is frequently dismissed as an irritation. Ok, it’s relatively cheap but why else should one pay more attention to our friend, the registered […]