It is a fact of life that attempts have been made in certain other countries to usurp control of the term or mark ROOIBOS, despite the fact that it is a well-known South African description for a particular plant which gives rise to ROOIBOS tea. The term ROOIBOS is as typically South African as “braaivleis” […]
Introduction Because intellectual property rights are territorial in nature (i.e. they have to be recognised by the country in which protection is sought), since the expansion of cross-border trade in the 19th century, authors, creators, designers, inventors and traders have sought similar protection in other countries to that which they enjoy in their domestic legal […]
Australia is notorious for being a country plagued by rampant bush fires. Over the years, valuable agricultural land, forestry, residential areas and even towns have been threatened or wiped out by uncontrollable bush fires. These bush fires have given rise to considerable damage and even loss of life. It is perhaps therefore not surprising that […]
In this special report, the VineOracle (IPStell’s personal pundit on all things IP) brings news (and her own brand of predictions) for the aesthetically minded visitor. And it is a star-studded cast of high-flyers (and fast swimmers) from Paris and New York representing some of the most exclusive brands. But do not be fooled by […]
All is fair in love and (patent) war, but apparently not when it comes to awarding damages in patent litigation. After nearly 18 months of protracted trench-warfare between Apple and Samsung’s formidable IP legal teams in the Northern District Court of California, Judge Lucy Koh surrendered the matter to a panel of 9 laymen (and […]
The Exchange Control Regulations (the “Regulations”) have been amended with effect from 8 June 2012 (Government Gazette No. 35430) to provide that transfers of ownership of intellectual property from a South African resident to a non-resident now require prior Treasury approval. While this amendment to the Regulations has drawn comments or criticisms from commentators, these […]
INTRODUCTION Intellectual property is commonly regarded as an esoteric branch of the law. It is characterised by being complex and until recently it has been a little understood and somewhat discrete area of the law. Its complexity stems from the fact that it has as its subject matter intangible items such as marks, ideas, concepts, […]
On the Internet there is only one thing that really matters – prominence. It is the nexus of all factors that drive the ever-expanding cyberspace. In this world, the attention span of every visitor is measured in seconds, and the amount of traffic to a specific website measured with scientific precision. It is, therefore, not […]
The age old proverb says “there is no smoke without fire”. The legislatures of several countries are about to turn this proverb on its head. The anti-smoking lobby has gained such strength in these countries that the fire brands of the anti-smoking lobby with their fiery rhetoric have moved governments to do their utmost to […]
Two related United States Bills were recently the topics of much controversy. Public outcries and widespread online protests were followed by an unprecedented Internet blackout on 18 January 2012. The Internet blackout was supported by the likes of Google, Facebook, Reddit and Wikipedia to name but a few. The blackout was not only supported by the Internet […]
