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Everything's fair game to the counterfeiters
The Heraldry Act provides for the registration of badges, emblems and coats of arms and it offers some protection against would-be copyists. For the Act to be able to do this a Bureau of Heraldry has been established which can register different emblems or badges like coats of arms, municipal logos or such other representations. |
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McBiscuit succeeds against McDonald's
McDonald's International Property Co. Ltd vs Dean Desmond Gianni and the Registrar of Trade Marks, an unreported Appeal decision of the Full Bench of the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court of South Africa in Case No. 1998/09833 delivered 2 October 2007. |
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Proposed prohibition on certain words & emblems for FIFA World Cup 2010
The public service strike in South Africa has resulted in a delay at the Government Printers. Please now find Notice 787 of 2007 dated 21 June 2007 relating to the proposed prohibition of certain words and emblems for FIFA World Cup 2010 (although the notice erroneously refers to 2007), which might be of interest to you. |
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Counterfeit goods – using the waist wisely
When 28 000 pairs of counterfeit jeans were seized at Cape Town harbour in 1999, there was one place they were headed: a trench a few kilometres outside the city. With an increased number of counterfeit goods hitting SA shores, particularly from China, brand holders have destroyed thousands of "designer" handbags, shoes and clothing, says law firm Adams & Adams.
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The dawn of a new era: Sunrise period for Dot Asia top-level domain names
The Pan-Asiatic and Asian Pacific community has set out to build a stage of their own in what has fast become the economic, social and political theatre of the human race. |
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What is inside the bottle?
Consumers have the right to know what they swallow, says trade mark attorney Marilyn Krige, partner at Adams & Adams, leading attorneys in intellectual property law. Welcoming the regulations to govern the bottled water industry passed by the Department of Health recently, Krige says any industry that generates some R1,5 billion every year and supplies goods that people consume, should state clearly what it is offering. |
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Cyber squatters: 0 Brand owners: 1
The very first case in which a cyber squatter was ordered to transfer a .co.za domain name to a South African brand owner has just been handed down. The complainant was Telkom SA Limited. The domain name was registered on 4 September 2006, shortly after the announcement by Telkom Media (Pty) Limited, a subsidiary of Telkom SA Limited that it intended to apply for a satellite television subscription broadcasting licence from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. This announcement received wide media attention at the time. |
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Insurance needed against insurance patents
The question of patents for non-technical subject matter is once again hitting the headlines in the USA. Bancorp Services LLC is sueing Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. for infringing a patent for a system that administers and tracks the values of insurance policies in separate accounts (U.S. Patent No. 7,249,037). Bancorp filed suit the same day that the patent issued. |
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BMW AG succeeds against replacement parts supplier
Commercial Auto Glass (Pty) Limited has been unsuccessful in its appeal against a judgment of the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court interdicting it from infringing the registered trade marks BMW, BM and 3-SERIES, and the unregistered well-known trade marks E30, E36 and E46, of BMW AG. |
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Advanced ADR Workshop (3 - 4 September 2007)
Advanced ADR workshop to be presented by speakers from Nominet UK and WIPO over 2 days in Sandton, Johannesburg. |
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Health Warnings will soon be required on Alcoholic Beverages
Consumers have become accustomed to the health warnings found on cigarettes and other tobacco products. Similar health warnings will soon have to be placed on alcoholic beverages. |
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Best Global Brands Survey: 53% associated with Adams & Adams
Adams & Adams is proud to be associated with 53 of the top 100 brands worldwide, as identified in the Recent Best Global Brands Survey, conducted by Interbrand. The Interbrand rankings for 2007 are as follows: |
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Partner at Adams & Adams wins Business Achievers Award
Marilyn Krige, partner at Adams & Adams, leading attorneys in intellectual property law, is a top women business achiever. |
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Lip-smacking ruling by ASA Final Appeal Committee
On 16 July 2007 the Final Appeal Committee of the Advertising Standards Authority handed down a lip-smacking ruling in the matter between Carma Laboratories Inc. (the Complainant) and Avid Brands SA (Pty) Ltd (the Respondent) which makes it clear that South African businesses should be wary of copying the advertising of internationally sold products. |
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Complaints in the .co.za name space - no April fools day joke
Cybersquatting as such, is not uncommon in South Africa. However, until very recently, anybody who wanted to object to a domain name in the .co.za name space, had no option but to institute proceedings in the High Court. |
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The firm practises directly in several Southern African countries and through long-established associates in others.
