Region: South Africa

​​​​​​​Research from <em>World Trademark Review</em> reveals the political issues that counsel say could significantly impact enforcement efforts, both now and in the future.

07 April 2018

In <em>Cochrane Steel v M-Systems</em>, which concerned the trademark CLEARVU, the Supreme Court of Appeal has considered the effect of disclaimers and admissions in South African trademark law.

14 February 2018

The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services has made significant amendments to the ‘.za’ Alternative Dispute Resolution Regulations, including a mandatory informal mediation service to be run by the ‘.za’ domain name authority.

03 January 2018

The recent Supreme Court of Appeal judgment in <i>The Advertising Standards Authority v Herbex (Pty) Ltd</i> has clarified the jurisdiction of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of South Africa and confirmed that it may issue rulings regarding advertising by non-members. It is hoped that the ruling will enable the ASA to overcome any financial distress and continue to fulfil its regulatory function.

10 November 2017

South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has handed down a landmark decision involving a trademark dispute between PepsiCo Inc and Atlantic Industries, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company. 

10 October 2017

Amending the Copyright Act has long been on South Africa’s legal reform agenda and now, through the collective effort of stakeholders, a new Copyright Act is within reach.

11 July 2017

In the second of a two-part series, we profile markets which were omitted from the Office of the US Trade Representative’s Notorious Markets List, but which brand owners should have on their radars. This issue, we turn our attention to Asia and Africa

01 July 2017

The Trademarks Registry of the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI) announced recently that all new trademark applications which are filed at the OAPI Registry need to conform to the latest (11th) edition of the Nice Classification system on the registration of trademarks. OAPI has acceded to a number of international treaties aimed at creating a modern and dynamic framework and to harmonise administrative procedures in the registration of titles.

22 June 2017

The practice of drop catching in the South African domain name space (‘.co.za’) was considered for the first time in a dispute concerning the domain name ‘darling.co.za’. The adjudicator ruled that the domain name registration abused the complainant’s rights. Where the domain name in dispute is identical to the complaint’s trademark, the onus is on the registrant to prove that the domain name is not abusive.

09 June 2017

A string of recent decisions finding that a mark’s ordinary meaning negatively affects its ability to serve as a unique indicator of source could have a significant impact on brand owners

01 May 2017