So, the Department of Trade and Industry (“DTI”) has finally gone ahead and done it. It has caused the Government to pass the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill (the so-called “Traditional Knowledge Bill”) despite vociferous objections from all quarters. It has rushed headlong into terrain where no angel would venture through acute trepidation. It has […]
Amidst the vineyards in Stellenbosch there is an oracle. This oracle, the Vine Oracle, holds forth on matters pertaining to intellectual property (IP). As may be expected, the Oracle communicates with those wishing to consult its wisdom through the grapevine. The rustling of the vine leaves in the summer breezes and the birds and the bees […]
“Ex Africa semper aliquid novi”, which can be freely translated from Latin to mean “there is always something new coming out of Africa”, said Pliny, the ancient Roman writer and scholar. Presumably then, as is the case now, the concept of “new” included an expression of sarcasm and deprecation as in “absurd, nonsensical and ridiculous”. […]
