Representations Regarding Possible Amendments to Section 25 of The Constitution
Introduction The South African Constitutional Court has ruled that the term “property” in the Section 25 of the Constitution covers not only land but also all forms of property including intellectual property (i.e. patents, designs, copyright trade marks and the like). In the event that, as proposed, this section is amended to allow property to be expropriated without compensation, it will mean that this principle will apply also to intellectual property. All and any patents, copyrights and trade marks etc., whether owned by South African or foreign nationals, will be subject to this...
Read MoreIP Public Lecture 2019 – the changing role of advertising
The 2019 annual intellectual property law public lecture, presented by the Anton Mostert Chair of Intellectual Property Law at the Faculty of Law, will address the role of advertising in IP disputes, with a focus on the changes that regulation of advertising has undergone in light of social and economic pressures. The lecture will be delivered by Gail Schimmel, CEO of the Advertising Regulatory Board, on the topic No Time to be Chicken. Her address will deal with the need to have courage, by consumers, IP rights holders and regulators, to deal with disputes in innovative ways. The lecture...
Read MoreMasterclass: Prof Dean discuss Netflix’s “The Lion’s Share”
Prof Dean was the guest on Azania Mosaka’s Masterclass series on Radio 702 to discuss the real story of Mbube, recently retold in the Netflix docu-drama “The Lion’s Share”. Listen to the podcast of the masterclass here (click the images below). If you are not yet familiar with the basic facts, below is a short synopsis of the events, which will soon be published in Managing Intellectual Property. Listen on Radio 702 podcasts Listen on Apple podcasts MIGHTY MOUSE AND THE SOMNOLENT LION’S SHARE Solomon Linda from Zululand composed an ethnic...
Read MoreAwakening the Lion in the Jungle
“Your mandate is to find a way, and to do everything possible, to enable the children of Solomon Linda, the composer of a song called MBUBE, which later evolved into the international hit song THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT, to derive some financial benefit from the considerable revenues generated by the popularity of THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT. You should recommend any reasonable course of action which you can conceive and we are willing to finance it even if it means conducting litigation abroad.” This instruction came from representatives of Gallo (Africa) Limited, the South African...
Read MoreIntellectual Property Law and How it Applies to Sport Events
In this special World IP Day article, Prof Owen Dean revisits the theme of IP rights protection for sporting events in South African law, with a focus on the developments and the Cricket World Cup 2019 as an example. Introduction Major sports are big business and vast sums of money are involved in staging sport events. This global trend was brought into sharp focus in South Africa during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The 2010 FIFA World Cup provided an excellent example of the role that branding plays in major sports, and how it can benefit the organisers of major sporting events and the...
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