Owen Dean selected for Best Lawyers in South Africa in Intellectual Property Law Practice
The incumbent of the Chair of Intellectual Property Law, Prof Owen Dean, has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the latest edition of Best Lawyers in South Africa in the practice area of Intellectual Property Law. Congratulations to Prof Dean. To be selected by one’s peers as a leading practitioner in your field is without doubt an honour worth celebrating, made all the more significant considering that Prof Dean has been retired from full time practice for some years. Prof Dean has been in practice as an Intellectual Property Attorney at Spoor & Fisher for more than 30...
Read MoreOpen Letter – Plain Packaging Legislation and the Constitution
NOTE: The following open letter has been delivered by email to the office of the Minister of Health of the Republic of South Africa on 31 July 2014. The contents of this letter is published here in furtherance of the debate on plain packaging legislation and the potential impact on the Constitutional rights of the proprietor. OPEN LETTER 31 July 2014 The Honourable Minister of Health Dr Pakishe Aaron Motsoaledi Civitas Building Corner of Thabo Sehume and Struben Streets Private Bag X828 PRETORIA 0001 Dear Dr Motsoaledi, RE: PREVENTION OF USE OF TRADE MARKS ON PACKAGING FOR...
Read MoreProf Mostert receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Prof Frederick Mostert, extraordinary professor at Stellenbosch University and Academic Fellow of this Chair, received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Luxury Law Summit 2014 for his contribution to the luxury industry according to a report by the Global Legal Post here. Prof Mostert’s career as legal professional includes many significant contributions to legal development across the world, among others the recent landmark case involving a brand from the Richemont stable which resulted in a successful defence of IP rights in the digital environment. (This matter was recently...
Read MoreInterview: Prof Dean on Afropop Worldwide
Afropop Worldwide, the radio programme and online magazine dedicated to music from Africa, interviewed Prof Dean about his personal experiences during the protracted Mbube/Lion Sleeps Tonight case, how he managed to persevere despite a myriad of obstacles and his book on this case. The interview is part of the Hip Deep special programme series funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and is distributed by Afropop Worldwide to more than 115 radio stations in the USA, Europe and Africa. You can listen to the interview here or on SoundCloud below (at...
Read MoreIP Public Lecture – Hacking Back and Hot Pursuit
THIS EVENT IS NOW CLOSED Please contact us for a transcript of the lecture. The Chair of Intellectual Property Law will present its annual public lecture on 15 April 2014 with Dr Frederick Mostert, Chief Legal Counsel for the Richemont Group of companies which include Cartier, Montblanc, Alfred Dunhill and Van Cleef & Arpels. The topic of Dr Mostert’s address is “Hacking Back and Hot Pursuit to Protect IP Assets – a Scoop on the TradeKey Case”. In an age of digital threats, Dr Mostert will discuss the potential methods to protect intellectual property rights online. From the...
Read MoreJudging IP Law
On Monday this week (2 December 2013) the President of the Republic appointed several new judges to the courts of South Africa including, most notably, Maria (Mabel) Jansen SC. It is with pleasure, and no small measure of pride, that this Chair conveys its congratulations to Judge Jansen on being elevated to the South Gauteng High Court (formerly the Johannesburg High Court) and wishes her well. Following the retirement of Judge Louis Harms from the Supreme Court of Appeal, this Chair (and many others) lamented the lack of IP expertise on the bench in South Africa. For this reason, the...
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