We trade mark lawyers like to tell our clients to take their brands seriously: adopt trade marks that are distinctive and therefore easy to protect; do trade mark searches; and register in all the countries where the trade marks are used. Clients sometimes roll their eyes when they hear this. But, fortunately for us lawyers, there’s a constant stream of big name trade mark scare stories in the media ...
Two recent news reports give some useful insight into the commercialisation of trade marks and its relevance to public utilities. The first report was in UK newspaper The Guardian. Entitled "Mine the Gap", it dealt with the fact that Transport for London ("TFL"), the authority that’s responsible for London’s tube and bus network, is involved in an ambitious trade mark licensing project. The authority recognises that it has some very valuable trade marks ...
As anyone who’s interested in trade mark law knows, it is possible to protect product shapes through trade mark registrations, but it isn’t easy. In some countries, it’s particularly difficult, as two recent cases show. Vespa Let's start with the positive news. Piaggio recently secured an important victory in its home country, with an Italian court ruling that a three-dimensional trade mark registration for the shape of the famous Vespa scooter is valid ...
The notion of contractual freedom has long been recognised in the entrenchment of the principle that agreements should be honoured. In this context, the decision by private contracting parties to submit a dispute to arbitration falls clearly within the purview of the valid exercise of contractual freedom ...
Blockchain, a type of distributed ledger technology, has garnered heightened interest as a secure method to conduct transactions. In this article, we provide an introduction to blockchain and its uses. In later articles, we will explore how this technology is being implemented to transform the financial services industry ...
On 22 May 2017, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (“JSE”) announced that it has made amendments to the JSE Listings Requirements in relation to the adoption of the King IV Report on Corporate Governance and other governance arrangements, including a race diversity policy and the publication of a compliance report pursuant to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (“B-BBEE”) Amendment Act, 2013 ...
The Davis Tax Committee (“DTC”) issued a media statement on 25 April 2017, calling for written submissions on the introduction of a possible wealth tax in South Africa. This proposal comes two months after an increase in the top income tax bracket for individuals by 4% to 45%, resulting in an effective capital gains tax (“CGT”) rate for individuals of 18%. This should be seen on the back of the increase the CGT rate by nearly 5% from 13 ...
BENIN: Public Procurement Holders to Benefit from a Tax Regime Derogating from Indirect Taxation The 2017 budget law introduced a derogatory tax regime from which certain public procurement holders may benefit by the Benin tax authorities, assuming indirect taxation. This includes customs duties, internal taxes on turnover (mainly value-added tax ("VAT")) on prices and values of goods and supplies acquired or incorporated into the realisation of the contract ...
In terms of paragraph 19(1)(b) of the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act, 5, 1962 (the "Fourth Schedule"), every company that is a provisional taxpayer shall, during every period within which provisional tax is or may be payable by it as provided in terms of the Fourth Schedule, submit to the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service ("SARS", a return of an estimate of the total taxable income which will be derived by the company in respect of the year of assessment i
On the morning of 26 April 2017, the usual rumble of South African Airways (“SAA”) flights taking to the skies was interrupted by a strike by cabin crew employees, organised by their trade union, the South African Cabin Crew Association (“SACCA”). Due to strict civil aviation regulations, the strike resulted in a significant number of flights being cancelled, which, in turn, caused massive inconvenience for passengers ...
A recent South African Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (“CCMA”) ruling has provided clarity on issues of deemed employment in circumstances where multiple contractors are used. The matter before the CCMA involved Shoprite, one of the largest food retailers in Africa. In order to provide its approximately 2,000 stores with stock in an efficient manner, Shoprite established seven distribution centres (“DCs”) in South Africa ...
In line with international models, South Africa has attempted to incentivize investment into the development and renewal of certain urban areas. One of these incentives is the accelerated tax depreciation allowance, introduced in 2003 by section 13quat of the Income Tax Act, 1962 and is commonly referred to as the Urban Development Zone ("UDZ") allowance ...
The recent storm in the UK about Scottish craft brewing company BrewDog’s decision to invoke its trade mark rights against much smaller rivals highlights the difficulties and negative repercussions that can arise when it comes to enforcing trade mark rights. BrewDog has been extraordinarily successful ...
The Labour Appeal Court ("LAC") judgment in Liberty Group Limited v MM is a reminder to employers to be vigilant when dealing with allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace and to ensure that managers are equipped to deal with reports of sexual harassment. A failure to do so can be a costly mistake, as the employer in this decision learnt ...
In 2014, a South African court convicted Paralympian Oscar Pistorius of culpable homicide (manslaughter), following the shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, and he was given a custodial sentence of five years. The conviction was later replaced with one of murder and his sentence increased to six years imprisonment ...
It seems absurd that South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) should be called on to decide what the word “between” means. But that’s exactly what happened in the recent patent case of Orica Mining Services v Elbroc Mining Products. In the process, the SCA very clearly opted for a purposive interpretation of patent claims. The two parties involved, Orica and Elbroc, supply goods to the mining industry ...
Recent developments in the UK regarding plain-packaging requirements for cigarettes have again shone the spotlight on this contentious issue. A while back, we reported on developments in Australia, where the country’s Tobacco Plain Packaging Act, 2011 requires tobacco companies to sell their products in identical olive green packs, with graphic images reflecting the possible health consequences of smoking, and the brand name (sans logo) in very small script ...
Once legal proceedings relating to a debt have started, does the subsequent substitution of one of the parties affect the prescription period for the debt? This was the crux of the recent Supreme Court of Appeal ("SCA") case of Sentrachem Limited v Terreblanche. A substitution occurs when a party to legal proceedings is replaced by another party, with no effect on the cause of action ...
ANGOLA: Budget Law, 2017 details publishedOn 10 February 2017, the provisions of Budget Law, 2017, enacted on 31 December 2016, were published. In terms of the Budget Law, 2017 the 10% withholding tax on technical services and management fees paid to non-residents for the provision of foreign technical assistance or management services (Contribuição Especial sobre as Operações Cambiais de Invisíveis Correntes), which was introduced by Law No ...
In February, in an article on the 2017 South African budget review, we wrote that the government had proposed that companies and individuals no longer required approval from the South African Reserve Bank (“SARB”) for “standard intellectual property transactions” and that the “loop structure restriction for all intellectual property transactions” be lifted, provided that such transactions are arm's length and at a fair market price ...
The South African Labour Court was recently called on to answer the question whether a trade union, acting on behalf of its members who are employees of the employer, may compel the employer to take disciplinary steps against certain of its employees in order to ensure the safety of the rest of its employees in the workplace. An employer has the duty to provide employees with safe working conditions, as far as is reasonably practicable ...
In the 2017 South African Budget Review, specific statements were made from a tax and exchange control perspective in relation to fund managers. We briefly consider below whether these statements constitute a relaxation of the exchange control restrictions applicable to South African residents, and the taxes to be considered ...
