Branding

“We registered our trade mark years ago. We’re covered.” Are you? It’s a question every business owner should ask. Many businesses view trade mark registration as a once-off exercise. The application is filed, the registration certificate arrives, and the brand is considered protected. But businesses evolve, and trade mark portfolios should evolve with them. A […]

So, you have birthed a chatbot and given it a name, what now? Should you register the name of the chatbot as a trade mark? The answer is a simple one, yes. If the chatbots are customer-facing, particularly where the names are being promoted as identifiable brand assets, then you should consider registering the name […]

I went to Chingada’s in Cape Town this week for Taco Tuesday. It is a striking restaurant: colourful, theatrical and deliberately Mexican in its presentation. As tends to happen when one encounters an unfamiliar foreign word above a restaurant, I wondered what Chingadas actually means, which sent me down a rather more interesting rabbit hole. […]

Starting a business is exciting. Whether you are opening a restaurant, launching a clothing label, developing an app or offering professional services, the goal is usually the same: to build something valuable and profitable. In our previous article, we discussed why it is important to conduct a trade mark availability search before investing in a […]

The Case of Altron Ltd v Tracker (Pty) Ltd Pretoria High Court, 2026 A trade mark unused for almost ten years might ordinarily be destined for removal. Yet in Altron v Tracker, residual reputation helped keep the registrations alive, highlighting the role of standing and judicial discretion in non-use proceedings and raising a difficult question […]

Artificial intelligence has moved beyond the hype and is now delivering real business value, as companies across the world use it to generate marketing material, social media content, product images, videos and customer communications. As synthetic content becomes indistinguishable from authentic content, ordinary people lose the ability to make informed judgements about what they’re seeing, […]

Imagine Having to Start Over You have spent months building your business. You have chosen the perfect name, designed your logo, launched your website and started attracting customers. People are beginning to recognise your brand, and your business is gaining momentum. Then one day you receive a letter informing you that another business owns rights […]

For many business owners, choosing a name for a new business venture is an exciting stage of building a brand. However, it is also one of the most important decisions you will make, as your trade name often becomes your trade mark. A trade mark is a valuable asset that forms part of a business.  […]

Instagram’s latest branding trend is simple: remove the logo, remove the name, and leave only colour swatches to choose from. Surprisingly, as it would appear from the comments and user engagement, most people can still identify the brand’s colour palette and even a specific pantone within seconds. Whether it is the unmistakable purple of Cadbury, […]