In July 2016, the South African Department of Trade and Industry (the “DTI”) published, and invited public comment on, its Intellectual Property Consultative Framework (the “IPCF”). The IPCF reflects the DTI’s views on South Africa’s IP policy position in the form of a consultative instrument ...
The global financial crisis, which originated in the United States, had a major impact on the world economy and the economic recovery prospects of developed countries. As the countries with the most active economic growth in the world, BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) face a great challenge. They need to adjust their development strategies when facing the new challenge in order to achieve rapid and sustainable economic development ...
In 2014, a South African court convicted Paralympian Oscar Pistorius of culpable homicide (manslaughter), following the shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, and he was given a custodial sentence of five years. The conviction was later replaced with one of murder and his sentence increased to six years imprisonment ...
There’s seemingly no end to the question of whether or not Nestlé can register the four-finger shape of its Kit Kat chocolate bar as a trade mark.Except, of course, in South Africa, where we know that it can. We know that because the South African Supreme Court of Appeal came to that conclusion in 2014 ...
Another day, another failed colour trade mark application. But there may be some lessons to be learned from a recent Australian decision. The quest to monopolise colour goes on, and we have written on this topic on several occasions. In the latest Australian case on colour trade marks, Frucor Beverages Limited, manufacturer of an energy drink called V, applied to register the colour green as a trade mark for its energy drinks ...
In light of the recent Adjusted Alert Level 4 restrictions, the TERS has officially been extended once again for certain affected employees. The new claim period is from 16 March 2021 to 25 July 2021. Applications for the extended TERS benefit opened on 19 July 2021 and payments are due to commence from 26 July 2021 ...
The Anton Piller order is an extraordinary thing. It’s essentially an evidence-preserving legal mechanism. It allows a party that feels that their rights are being infringed to approach the court as a matter of urgency and without notice to the alleged wrongdoer for an order sanctioning a raid of the premises of the alleged wrongdoer in order to find and preserve evidence that it believes will otherwise be destroyed ...
Apple’s recent US$ 1 billion damages award against Samsung was world news. In case you missed it, a California court found that Samsung had, in its Galaxy 10.1 smartphone, infringed various patents belonging to Apple ...
Are the two trade marks confusingly similar? It’s the question that’s most commonly asked in trade mark law. The issue of confusion can arise in the context of registration: should the trade mark be registered in the face of the earlier trade mark? It can also arise in the context of use: does the trade mark that’s being used infringe the registered trade mark? The two cases that we will consider here both involve registration ...
he office of the South African Information Regulator recently published its first draft regulations in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPI”), entitled “Regulations relating to the Protection of Personal Information, 2017”. The draft regulations are open for public comment until 7 November 2017 ...
On 15 December 2016, the South African Constitutional Court handed down a landmark judgment in Myathaza v Johannesburg Metropolitan Bus Services (SOC) Limited t/a Metrobus and Others, in which it held that arbitration awards issued in terms of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the “LRA”) do not prescribe ...
The notion of contractual freedom has long been recognised in the entrenchment of the principle that agreements should be honoured. In this context, the decision by private contracting parties to submit a dispute to arbitration falls clearly within the purview of the valid exercise of contractual freedom ...
The South African Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Income Tax Act”) contains exemptions from income tax that apply to institutions such as pension funds, certain universities and non-profit public benefit organisations, with an altruistic or philanthropic intent ...
Broad-based black economic empowerment (“B-BBEE”) is a policy of the South African government that is aimed at increasing participation by previously disadvantaged South Africans in economic activities. The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 2003 (the “B-BBEE Act”) is the primary legislation through which this B-BBEE policy is implemented ...
ARIPO Developments: Amended Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization’s (“ARIPO’s”) amended Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs (the “Protocol”), came into effect on 1 January 2017 and includes some important changes ...
Over the past few years, more and more companies have started publishing news content written by artificial intelligence (“AI”) algorithms. This includes Chinese technology giant, Tencent, whose rapid growth has shaped the trajectory of Naspers, the South African company that currently still owns a bit more than 30% of Tencent. Tencent publishes content produced by automated software known as Dreamwriter ...
There’s a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the South African Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) right now. This is important for IP owners because the ASA has become a significant forum for deciding what are essentially trade mark or passing off-type disputes ...
The issue of the jurisdiction of the South African Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) to determine matters involving individuals and companies that don’t belong to the body has now been resolved by an agreement that has been made an order of the Supreme Court of Appeal in the case of Advertising Standards Authority v Herbex (Pty) Ltd ...
Disputes arising from an employer’s failure to promote an employee have become an established feature in South African workplaces, especially in the public sector. They have also been the subject of a large number of arbitrations by virtue of the provisions of section 186 (2)(a) of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”). This section provides that the definition of an unfair labour practice includes unfair conduct by an employer relating to the promotion of an employee ...
In the recent judgment of “The Owners of the mv “Silver Star” v Hilane Limited”*, several important principles were established, namely: Full effect must be given to the right to proceed against an associated ship of a charterer in respect of a maritime claim that arises in the course of the Charter ...
In this matter, the employer, Enforce Security Group (“Enforce”), was a private security services provider contracting out security officers to its clients. The security officers were employed on the basis that their period of employment would endure until the termination of the service contract between Enforce and the client whose premises the employee would be assigned to. This type of provision is commonly referred to as an “automatic termination clause” ...
Receiving and responding to a request for relevant material from the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) and generally dealing with SARS during an audit or a dispute can be a daunting task for any taxpayer ...
As a result of the global financial crisis, the necessity for growth has become paramount and fiscal consolidation non-negotiable. Private sector growth is fundamental for economic recovery and to reduce deficits ...
IP landscape While the world is in the grip of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the patenting of pharmaceutical and biological compositions and the launch of generic products is even more hotly debated than before, particularly in the world's developing and least-developed countries ...
The South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) has introduced a new Tax Compliance Status System (“TCS”) from 18 April 2016 in an effort to improve compliance and to make it easier for taxpayers to manage their tax affairs. The Tax Compliance Status System is a holistic view of the tax compliance level across all registered tax types ...
