News > Intellectual Property
 The Government of Sao Tome and Principe deposited on 8 September 2008, with the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), its instrument of accession to the Geneva (1999) Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs. The 1999 Act will enter into force in respect of Sao Tome and Principe on 8 December 2008. |
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 In view of the upcoming Zambian Presidential elections scheduled for 30 October 2008, the Zambian Patent Office has temporarily suspended the issuance of Letters Patent. The issuance of Letters Patent will only be reinstated after the new President has been elected so that the Letters Patent indicate the name of the newly elected President. |
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On 23 July 2008, Cape Verde became a Member of the WTO. Although it is still not possible to obtain patent protection in Cape Verde, it is hoped that the recent accession to the WTO and the resulting obligations of Cape Verde to become TRIPS compliant will mean that patent protection will soon be available. The situation will be monitored and updates posted as and when information becomes available. |
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The Kuwait Designs Office has reinstated examination of design applications. Design applications are now examined as to form, local novelty and industrial applicability. However, currently the Designs Office is only examining design applications filed since 1993, examination in respect of recently filed applications is still on hold. |
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 The High Court of South Africa (Transvaal Provincial Division) has ruled in favour of Lacoste in a case involving alleged counterfeit goods and the use of a “REPTILE” device which was contended to infringe its well-known registered CROCODILE device. Judgment was handed down on 30 September 2008 in Lacoste S.A. (formerly La Chemise Lacoste) vs Long Chang Trading CC, TPD case number 29835/05. |
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 Senate has approved the bill on protection of Intellectual Property Rights and effective enforcement mechanisms. The bill on intellectual property covers patent rights on trademarks and copyrights, and gives creators exclusive rights to their creations thereby providing an incentive for the author or inventor to develop and share the information rather than keep it secret. The legal protections granted by Intellectual Property bill are credited with significant contributions toward national economic growth. The bill approved by the Senate also protects inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs. |
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In order to eliminate the duplication of work done by three patent offices, the Triway Pilot Program, a search-sharing project between the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO), was launched in July 2008. The purpose of this program is for the Offices of Second Filing and the Offices of Third Filing to utilize the search results of the Office of First Filing. |
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In order to be patentable, an invention must be new, it must involve an inventive step and it must be capable of being used or applied in trade, industry or agriculture. For mechanical inventions, unlike biotechnological inventions, it is more often than not quite clear whether or not an invention is capable of industrial application. |
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 The Cape High Court granted an order on 19 September 2008 against the well-known South African clothing designer, Jenni Button, interdicting her from making use in any way of the trade name JENNI BUTTON for purposes of conducting business within the retail clothing trade in South Africa. She was also directed to pay the costs of the application. The High Court actually dealt with two applications heard simultaneously : • the first, by Jenni Button against Jenni Button (Pty) Limited (“the company”) and other entities, to transfer to her 30 % of the shares of the company; and • the second, a counter-application by the company to restrain Jenni Button from using the trade name JENNI BUTTON for purposes of conducting business within the retail trade including as part of the domain name jennibutton.com. |
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 The long awaited Merchandise Marks Act Regulations have been published in the Tanzanian Government Gazette of 20 June 2008. The Regulations and earlier amendments to the Merchandise Marks Act of 1963 (“the Act”) serve to amend the Merchandise Marks Act of 1963. The Regulations have come up with practical strategies and rules to tackle trade in counterfeit goods and pirated copies. |
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There has been an increase in the number of decisions emanating from our courts confirming the view that counterfeiting is a serious offence and that appropriate sentences will be implemented as a deterrent and punishment to people who deal in counterfeit goods. A factory was recently discovered in Rosettenville, Johannesburg, manufacturing counterfeit caps. Thousands of caps and hundreds of tags and labels bearing the LACOSTE trade marks were seized. In addition, a large industrial embroidery machine that was being used to apply the infringing tags and labels to the caps was also seized. |
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 The South African Police Service has, in co-operation with well-known brand owners represented by Adams & Adams attorneys in South Africa, successfully prosecuted Papa Diop and Wide Road Import & Export CC for respectively dealing in and importing counterfeit goods in contravention of the Counterfeit Goods Act. |
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 On 26 June 2008, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”), an international, non profit, private-public partnership responsible for the administration of the internet, accepted a recommendation to expand the current generic Top Level Domain (TLD) names. Currently, there are limited numbers of TLDs available wherein businesses or individuals can register domain names. The most common current TLDs include .com, .net, .org etc. Since the original seven domain “dots” were established, ICANN has expanded the number of TLDs rarely and only by a handful each time. |
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 With soccer fever peaking as Manchester United, the current FA Premier League and European Club Champions, plays Orlando Pirates in Durban tomorrow (22 July), the selling – and buying – of counterfeit memorabilia could dampen the spirit. “Whilst registered vendors will be selling the rightful items, vendors with no respect for registered brands will obviously be out in full force, offering supporters illegal counterfeit items,” says trade mark attorney Marilyn Krige, partner at Adams & Adams, leading attorneys in intellectual property law. |
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 In an important decision handed down by the Cape High Court Disney Enterprises Inc., together with three other studios and their exclusive licensee, Nu Metro, were granted injunctive relief (and other relief) restraining Mr Video and twenty-two of its franchisees from infringing the copyright in various cinematograph films by importing and hiring out Zone 1 DVDs only intended for the North American market. The main question before the Court was whether the conduct of Mr Video and its franchisees constituted direct infringement in terms of Section 23(1) of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978 read with Section 8(1)(g) which provides that hiring out a film is the exclusive right of a copyright owner. |
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The firm practises directly in several Southern African countries and through long-established associates in others.
