Recently, the Registrar of the South African Patent Office published a practice note updating the formality requirements for assignments in patent applications. Previously, where an International PCT application claims priority from an earlier filed application in a...
Intellectual Property
Moral of the Story
Authors of copyright protectable works retain certain rights despite not being the owners of such copyright By Daniëlle van Deventer The issue of relinquishing copyright ownership in an original piece of writing, an artwork or a musical composition is a complex and...
Flying under the radar: What are stealth trade mark applications?
Trade mark protection is crucial for any brand owner, but it can sometimes create practical difficulties from a business perspective. When new trade mark applications are published by registries, information about a company or a brand owner’s new product or service is...
Preventing genericide: Saving your trade mark from falling prey to the public domain
Videotape, Escalator, Trampoline, Laundromat[1]. What do all of these words have in common? They were all once legally protectable trade marks which, due to the way in which they were used, have lost their distinctiveness and since become ‘generic’. But what does...
Adams & Adams Anticounterfeiting team roll out seizures of counterfeit roller bearings in 3 Provinces
After extensive investigations into a company importing and selling counterfeit branded roller bearings, the Adams & Adams Anti-Counterfeiting Team assisted the HAWKS (SAPS) with simultaneous search and seizure operations in 3 Provinces. More than 1 300...
Regulator sanctions influencers over Lotto adverts – Comedians do not get the last laugh after failing to disclose that Twitter posts were paid advertising
The Advertising and Regulatory Board (ARB) recently handed down a decision holding that the videos posted by comedians Skhumba Hlophe and Celeste Ntuli had breached the code on South African advertising. Hlophe and Ntuli uploaded videos on their Twitter accounts,...
A second bite at the (appeal) cherry, In Thermos Hong Kong Limited v Doshi Ironmongers Limited
In Thermos Hong Kong Limited v Doshi Ironmongers Limited (Civil Appeal (Application) E013 of 2021) [2022] KECA 544 (KLR), the Kenyan Court of Appeal had to determine whether a party had a second right to appeal an appellate decision from the High Court in relation to...
NEW MOZAMBIQUE COPYRIGHT ACT
On 29 June 2022, the Assembly of the Republic approved the new Copyright Law of Mozambique, Law 9/2022. The new law came into force on 26 September 2022. The new Copyright Act is aimed at promoting and safeguarding the protection of literary, artistic and scientific...
Blind SA vs Minister of Trade, Industry & Competition & Others
The Constitutional Court declares provisions of the Copyright Act unconstitutional The Constitutional Court of South Africa has declared the Copyright Act unconstitutional to the extent that it limits or prevents persons with visual and print disabilities from...
DRAFT LAW TO ESTABLISH CONGOLESE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY OFFICE ADOPTED
The Senate has adopted a draft law establishing the Congolese Industrial Property Office. With the establishment of the Industrial Property Office, the aim is to provide technical assistance to local economic operators, researchers and inventors preparing documents to...
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