On 1 November 2013, the South African Department of Trade and Industry published the draft “Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill” (the “Draft Bill”) for comments. The Draft Bill comes shortly after South Africa decided to unilaterally terminate its bilateral investment treaties (“BITs”) with certain European states and specifically Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Germany, Spain […]
The publication of the South African National Policy on intellectual property (SANIPP) in September 2013 has opened a proverbial can of worms and the Pharmaceutical industry is up in arms. The SANIPP proposes the introduction of stronger IP rights through the introduction of, amongst others, pre-and post-grant opposition proceedings, and makes reference to the introduction […]
While trade mark infringement cases are not unusual, there are few decisions in which the central issue which required determination was whether the respective goods involved were so similar that it would gave rise to a likelihood of deception or confusion. It is for this reasonthat the decision in Mettenheimer & Another v Zonquasdrif Vineyards […]
Introduction The Draft National Policy on Intellectual Property (DNPIP) of South Africa was published on 4 September 2013 for public comments. Despite the fact that the DNPIP is not conducive to a systematic and consequential analysis of it and displays an alarming lack of understanding and/or knowledge of existing South African IP law one cannot […]
South Africa is no stranger to the fever that accompanies the discovery of gemstones or precious metal in a particular region. Indeed, for decades the mineral riches of our nation were legendary across the world and the object of several battles for imperial, colonial or feudal control over the diamond, gold, platinum and coal fields […]
I have a confession to make. I plead guilty as charged. I admit that I am a white male establishment lawyer. I practised for 35 years as a partner of a prominent attorneys firm specialising in the field of intellectual property law (“IP”). Thereafter, upon retirement, I became a Professor of IP Law. This makes […]
Note: Seldom will the VineOracle descend into the dust of the arena, even when the winner is known to her in advance. But on this occasion she considers it necessary to expound upon the recent developments in IP legal development for the sake of those who care to learn. Here is her report on the […]
As the pressure on “going green” increases internationally, eyes are turned to the protection of intellectual property and its mechanisms and particularly the question as to whether the World Trade Organization agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) should include special flexibilities for access and dissemination of environmental sound technologies such as they occur […]
