Posts Tagged "rights"

Freedom to innovate – did Government get the message?

Posted on Apr 16, 2017

Freedom to innovate – did Government get the message?

On 27 April, Freedom Day, we will pause to mark the most significant moment in South African history and commemorate the day when freedom, above all else, became the nation’s guiding principle. The day before, World IP Day, we celebrate the achievements of our brethren that influence our every-day lives and the ability of free human intellectual endeavour to improve our lives. In recent years, Freedom Day celebrations have been reduced to the favourite grandstanding occasion for politicians. While celebrating, many public figures will repeat the customary refrain of this day – remark...

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Criminal Plants – New Plant Breeders’ Rights Bill

Posted on Feb 18, 2015

Criminal Plants – New Plant Breeders’ Rights Bill

Editor: Among the various pillars of the intellectual property law, perhaps the most esoteric is that of plant breeders’ rights. Despite its significant scientific and economic role, this peculiar and highly specialised field is unfamiliar to most outside the field of IP law. It is therefore with pleasure that the Chair of IP Law reproduce here a post on the Plant Breeders Rights Bill of 2015, which first appeared here on the website of Spoor & Fisher. Most appropriately, this insightful review of the Bill is written by David Cochrane, author of the chapter on plant...

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Assignments of IP to non-residents: the amended Exchange Control Regulations

Posted on Jul 3, 2012

Assignments of IP to non-residents: the amended Exchange Control Regulations

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 have principally related to, inter alia, the apparent reversal of the stated policy of relaxing exchange controls or the alleged invalidity of the amendment.  In contrast, the purpose of this note is to briefly...

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The Great Pharmaceutical Patent Debate

Posted on Nov 18, 2011

The Great Pharmaceutical Patent Debate

In recent news, the TAC (Treatment Action Campaign) has called on government to revise the Patents Act to reduce the patent protection available to pharmaceutical inventions, which the organisation believes is responsible for the high cost of medicines and a delay in the availability of generic medicines. The organisation refers to the Doha Declaration, which has been signed by South Africa as a member of the World Trade Organisation, to support its call. “Government has not yet been proactive in utilising these mechanisms” There is no denying that the impact of diseases such as...

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Copyright: The Photographers Plight

Posted on Oct 15, 2011

Copyright: The Photographers Plight

The Vine Oracle recently chatted to a professional photographer and had occasion to reflect on the treatment meted out to this group by our Copyright law. Apparently freelance photography in South Africa is not the lucrative business it appears to be– quite the contrary. Copyright is supposed to allow creators of original works to make money by commercialising their works. Copyright is failing freelance photographers on this count. Why you ask? Remember that copyright comes into being automatically (provided of course the other requirements for subsistence of copyright are present) –...

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