The South African Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) handed down a
number of trade mark judgments late last year. The first of these
was in the case of Roodezandt Ko-operatiewe Wynmakery v
Robertson Winery (Pty) Ltd and the Registrar of Trade Marks,
and the judgment was handed down on 19 November 2014. As the names
might suggest, this case involved the South African wine industry,
an industry that produces its fair share of trade mark
cases.
This was an application for the removal or cancellation of a
trade mark registration. The facts were as follows: Robertson
Winery, a long established winery situated in the area of Robertson
in the Western Cape, has used the trade mark Robertson Winery &
Label since 1941; the company has registrations covering wine for
various trade marks – Robertson Winery & Label, Robertson
Vineyards and Robertsoner, the earliest one dating back to 1997;
Roodezandt had a 2008 registration for the trade mark Robertson
Hills for wine; Robertson
