Recent OAPI trade mark opposition judgments highlight the fact that the system works.

Currently the Medicines and Related Substances Act ("the Act") only applies to, and regulates, allopathic medicines.

Copyright in South Africa runs the risk of becoming an endangered species and ultimately suffering the fate of the dinosaur.

The Madrid system, governed by the Madrid Agreement2 and Madrid Protocol3 is designed for trade mark owners to secure protection in several countries by a single registration in their national Trade marks Office, followed by a deposit with the International Office at WIPO in Geneva, designating the other member states where protection is sought.

In a recent matter heard before the Gauteng North High Court BMW AG took on a spare parts manufacturer, Grandmark International, for alleged infringement of their registered designs.

Spoor & Fisher has, for numerous years, been advising its clients on the lawfulness or otherwise of promotional competitions.

There are two important intrinsic requirements for obtaining a patent for an invention in most countries in the world, the first is that the invention must be new and the second is that the invention must be inventive or non-obvious.

Most businesses make use of some form on trade secret/s in their daily operations.

For a number of years South African exchange control law has complicated offshore transactions relating to intellectual property.

The executor of the estate of the late Solomon Linda has brought a claim of copyright infringement based on the reversionary interest in the musical work entitled <I>"Mbube"</I> from which the well known hit song <I>"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"</I>, has allegedly being derived.

Although Rwanda is said to be one of the world’s poorest countries, it is among the most forward- and outwardlooking of developing nations.

Over the last decade or so litigation over ownership of the GAP trade mark in South Africa has been a recurring event in the South African courts.

The term "grey goods" refers to products which are manufactured by a trade mark holder in one country and imported into another country by a party other than the official representative of the trade mark holder in the importing country.

Since being introduced in July 2015, the Arusha protocol for the protection of novel plant varieties in Africa has finally entered into force on the 24th November 2024...

Copyright is not just for artists. While it can apply to products of craftsmanship or the performing arts, it can also apply to works created in an engineering context.

Following its decision to acceded to the Madrid Protocol in 2006, Botswana enacted The Industrial Property Act No.8 of 2010, that came into force on 1 September 2012, in order to provide protection for trade marks designated under the International Registration system.

John Grisham’s novel "The Litigators" begins with the words "The law firm of Finley & Figg referred to itself as a "boutique firm".

A number of discussions depicting the ugly face of IP, which tends to show itself from time to time.