Intelligence

Major tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have registered their chatbot names as trademarks, and businesses across retail and financial sectors are following suit. Should your customer-facing chatbot receive the same legal protection before competitors claim similar names in your industry?

As South African businesses prepare for festive season celebrations, a critical question emerges: are employers adequately protected against the legal and financial risks that accompany year-end office parties? From alcohol-related incidents to workplace misconduct claims, the gap between celebration and catastrophe may be wider than most companies realize.

A Cape Town restaurant's name raises intriguing questions about trade mark registration when foreign words carry vulgar meanings unknown to most local consumers. Should CHINGADA'S have been registered under South African law, and does linguistic offensiveness to a minority constitute grounds for refusal?

A South African High Court case examines whether sustained defiance of a court interdict—including broken locks, torn orders, burning tyres, and a false alibi—constitutes contempt of court beyond reasonable doubt. The judgment addresses the four requirements for contempt and the consequences of brazen disregard for judicial authority.

South Africa's proposed Regulation of Trusts Bill, 2026 introduces a substantially more developed regulatory framework that moves trust administration towards a world where good governance must be demonstrable rather than assumed. The Bill signals a fundamental shift from viewing trusts merely as legal structures to recognizing them as governance arrangements requiring careful documentation, investment oversight, and succession planning that extends beyond the original founders.

The Competition Appeal Court recently examined the extent to which South Africa's Competition Commission must investigate complaints before declining to pursue them, and whether complainants can challenge such decisions. In Nevilles Tours and Logistics v The Competition Commission, the court addressed a bus operator's allegations of predatory and excessive pricing by dominant competitors, finding the Commission's initial investigation inadequate and setting new standards for meaningful inquiry.