News

Paying homage to the next generation of advertising greats – The Loeries Adams & Adams Young Creative Category

Tenacious, brave, hardworking, ‘out of the box’ , spurred on by an inner creative spirit.  These are just some of the qualities of the entrants in the Loeries Young Creatives Awards Category should have. “What’s more they represent characteristics which resonate with the Adams & Adams brand,” says Mariette du Plessis, senior partner at law firm Adams & Adams.

Chico Hamilton once said, “A lot of musicians aren't proud; they'll do other work, just to be able to play music. I guess that's the way it's always going to be - musicians will have to suffer to a certain degree in order to obtain their outlet”.

The South African Supreme Court of Appeal has handed down an important judgement for pharma trade marks. The case of Adcock Ingram v Cipla Medpro reconsidered the notion that pharmaceuticals sold on prescription are less likely to be confused because they are dispensed by trained professionals in regulated circumstances. In doing so the Court questioned the relevance of findings in a 1983 leading case, also involving Adcock, in contemporary society.

Mariette du Plessis, partner at Adams&Adams says she went to Design Indaba 2012, not quite knowing what to expect, but  the incredible creative talents in South Africa exceeded her expectations.

After a 20 year legal battle, the Federal Court of Canada has finally ruled that the well-known roar of the Metro-Goldwyn Mayer lion, which has been heard during the opening credits of movies produced by the film studio since 1924, can be registered as a trade mark in that country. The Registrar of Trade Marks had initially refused an application to register the sound trade mark application on the basis that it is not cable of being a trade mark.

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.