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ARTICLE · 03 AUGUST 2022

A Clear View On Disclaimers

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The South African Supreme Court of Appeal ("SCA") recently handed down its judgment in the trade mark case of Cochrane Steel Products v Jumalu Fencing.

South AfricaIntellectual Property
Jeremy de Beer
Jeremy de Beer
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The South African Supreme Court of Appeal ("SCA") recently handed down its judgment in the trade mark case of Cochrane Steel Products v Jumalu Fencing. This case is related to involving Cochrane's registration for the trade mark CLEAR VU in classes 6 and 37 for fencing products and services.

The CLEAR VU registration

Cochrane's CLEAR VU trade mark registration is subject to two disclaimers, which were ordered by the SCA in the earlier litigation.

The first reads: "Registration of this mark shall give no right to the exclusive use of the words 'clear' and 'view' separately and apart from the mark."

The other reads that, "registration of this mark shall not debar others from the bona fide descriptive use in the course of trade of the words 'clear view' and 'view'."

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