On 12 April 2022, The South African Supreme Court of Appeal
("SCA") ruled that the Advertising
Regulatory Board ("ARB") is entitled
to consider and make decisions on the advertising of
non-members, and guide its members accordingly.
Background
On many
occassions, we've discussed the fact that South African
advertising regulations have, to a certain extent, allowed IP
rights owners (particularly owners of trade marks and copyright) to
enforce their rights through advertising regulatory bodies –
initially through the now-disbanded Advertising Standards Authority
(ASA) and, more recently through the ASA's successor, the
Advertising Regulatory Board ("ARB"),
thereby avoiding expensive court proceedings.
