News > Trade Marks
 After a hiatus in the publication of trade mark applications of close on 26 years, the Registry in Banjul has eventually issued an edition of the Gambian Gazette with a cover date of 15 September 1992 and Supplement "D" to the Gazette no. 13 dated 10 July 2007, containing trade mark applications filed some years back. |
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 In a move which highlights the Department of Health’s ongoing commitment to reduce smoking in South Africa, the Minister of Health has introduced a Bill which proposes to amend the Tobacco Products Control Act so as to further tighten-up the advertisement and sale of tobacco products. The Tobacco Products Control Act currently bans the advertisement and promotion of tobacco products and also makes provision for certain required information to appear on the packages of tobacco products sold in South Africa. |
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 Adams & Adams has again appointed Chris Job as Chairman. Job, a partner at Adams & Adams, has 35 years’ experience, specialising in trade mark law, unlawful competition, copyright and designs. His particular field of expertise focuses on High Court and other litigation. He joined the firm as a senior partner in its trade marks department in 1993 and became Chairman of the firm in 1999, a position which he held until 2006. |
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 Leading intellectual property law firm Adams & Adams has appointed two new partners, Lauren Ross and Bilkis Rassool. Both are trade mark attorneys. |
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 Newsflash In an order dated 28 January 2008, the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa has dismissed (with costs) an application by McDonalds International Property Co. Limited for leave to appeal against a decision of the Full Bench of the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court upholding an earlier decision of the Registrar of Trade Marks refusing cancellation of the McBiscuit trade mark registration on the basis of several registrations for Mc and Mac trade marks. |
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 In a recent decision, the Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) Directorate ruled that a combination of seemingly generic elements, when used together in a certain way, was the exclusive advertising property of a mobile telecommunications provider and that these had been imitated by a fast-food chain in its advertising. |
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 VELCRO USA Inc, the complainant, is the proprietor of various registered trade marks for the mark VELCRO in various territories in respect of “loop and hook fasteners” The respondent, a competitor in Asia for several years, registered the domain name china-velcro.com to which the complainant objected. As a defence, the respondent argued that the mark VELCRO has been used by third parties for several decades to describe ”loop and hook fasteners” and has become generic. |
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 In order to register a domain name in Kenya, the applicant is required to have a real and effective business interest in the country. |
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 The proposed regulations on foodstuffs for children and infants seem to criminalise women who for whatever reason, are not able to, or choose not to breastfeed. This is according to Marilyn Krige, partner at Adams & Adams, leading attorneys in intellectual property law. |
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 FIFA secured a transfer of the domain name fifa.co.za after it successfully objected to the registration of the domain name in the name of X Yin (“the Registrant”), by lodging a complaint with the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law, the recently accredited alternative dispute resolution provider for domain names in the .co.za name space. |
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 Anthony Hamilton Russell and Southern Right Cellars (Pty) Limited have corked Bonnievale Co-op Wynkelders Beperk’s sale of a range of wines under the trade mark Southern Lights. |
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 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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 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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 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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 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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The firm practises directly in several Southern African countries and through long-established associates in others.
