News

The National Director of Public Prosecutions (“NDPP”) may, in terms of Section 38 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 1998, (“POCA”), make an ex parte application to preserve (“freeze”) the property of any person for 90 days.  The NDPP must show that there are reasonable grounds to believe that such property constitutes proceeds of unlawful activities.

With effect from 1 March the firm not only has new partners and professionals, but it officially expanded throughout Africa too.

1 March saw the merger of the full Bowman Gilfillan IP practice into that of Adams & Adams.  This move means Adams & Adams is now the biggest IP practice in South Africa, throughout the continent of Africa and indeed the Southern Hemisphere.  It means 5 new partners, and 19 further professional staff members, and a further complement of support staff who have joined the firm.

Over and above this, during the months of February and early March, the firm opened further offices in Africa, i.e. in Tanzania (including Zanzibar), Burundi and an OAPI office based in Cameroon.

Piracy: Definition – in the context of this article -

“a person who uses or reproduces the work or invention of another without authorisation”.

“Watching a tree trunk, a piece of wood or a pile of planks transform into something beautiful is what does it for me” – Mike van Heerden, emerging creative and winner of the ‘Most Creative Stand’ at this year’s Design Indaba.

25-year old Laduma Ngxokolo is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning textile designer of ethnic-inspired knitwear. A young proudly African Port Elizabeth-based designer, Laduma’s talent was nurtured early by his late mother, Lindelwa Ngxokolo.

The concise Oxford Dictionary defines GreenWashing as “the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service”. 

Swartkops Sea Salt (Pty) Ltd v Cerebos Limited: Side by side comparisons in South African passing-off

Introduction

In Swartkops Sea Salt (Pty) Ltd v Cerebos Limited[1] the Eastern Cape High Court was called upon to decide whether Cerebos’ braai[2]salt get-up amounted to passing-off in respect of Swartkops’ braai salt.

Under our current constitutional dispensation, and in light of the Constitutional Court judgement in Barkhuizen v Napier (2007 (5) SA 323), it was generally accepted that our courts, by virtue of public policy, have the power to refuse to give effect to the implementation of contractual provisions which it regards to be unreasonable, unfair or in bad faith.

A global survey conducted by The Nielsen Company revealed that over 85 percent of the world’s online population has purchased products online, with half of this population purchasing online at least once a month.  An increasing number of consumers are abandoning shopping malls for the safer and more convenient online shopping experience. A customer of the Web 2.0 generation is also more than likely to read comments on the internet regarding a particular product, rather than viewing the product in-store.

Bob Marley wrote - “Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights”. And that’s just what intellectual property law firm Adams & Adams has been doing for the past 100 years.  Protecting the rights of those in the entertainment industry, from musicians, and composers, to artists, authors and film makers.

Many franchise systems involve the manufacturing of products or the sale of those products to the public. Sometimes, something goes wrong in the process and the products cause harm to consumers. Both franchisors and franchisees need to consider what the implications will be if that happens. Such harm can lead to significant claims against franchisors or franchisees and steps must be taken to deal with the risks involved.