A Clearvu On Endorsements

Every now and then, a dispute comes along that adds an extraordinary amount to the law. One such dispute is the Clearvu trade mark case.

We have  reported on the case of Cochrane Steel Products (Pty) Ltd v M-Systems Group (Pty) Ltd on a number of occasions. This was the case in which a South African court had to consider whether or not it is unlawful for a company to bid on the trade mark of a competitor as a keyword/search term. The point of doing this is, of course, to ensure that when internet users search the trade mark (or variations of it), they get to see the sponsored links/pop-up adverts of the company that has bid on the trade mark or purchased the trade mark as a keyword.