South African Minister of Economic Development, Ebrahim Patel, has announced that, from 1 May 2016, cartel conduct (price fixing, market allocation and collusive tendering) comprises criminal activity. Directors or persons with management responsibility who participate in cartel conduct or who are aware of cartel conduct and fail to take appropriate action can be criminally prosecuted ...
On 1 April 2020, the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) granted an appeal against an order of Acting Justice Kose in the Cape Town High Court in favour of The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) (Bergh and Others v The Agricultural Research Council (Case no 93/2019) [2020] ZASCA 30). The appeal was against an order interdicting the appellants from infringing the ARC’s copyright in the BeefPro computer program and from unlawfully competing with the ARC ...
The South African Labour Courts have, until now, not had the opportunity to consider what impact, if any, a so-called “gardening leave” provision may have on the enforceability of a restraint of trade. This issue, among others, came before the Labour Court in Johannesburg in the case ofVodacom v Godfrey Motsa and MTN Group (J74/16). Judgment was handed down by Van Niekerk J on 9 February 2016 ...
ENSafrica successfully represented Virgin Active in a South African Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) matter, regarding a Virgin Active TV advertisement that used the expression “get off your ass”. The case in question is S Jack & others v Virgin Active South Africa (Pty) Ltd, and the ruling was handed down on 26 February 2016. The point of the advertisement was to persuade people to start working out at Virgin Active gyms ...
In a slightly surprising, but nevertheless welcome, South African 2020 Budget Speech today, the Honourable Minister of Finance announced that there would be no significant tax increases to the major taxes for the forthcoming tax year. Widely anticipated increases to value-added tax (“VAT”), income tax, capital gains tax and estate duty did not materialise ...
On 11 June 2021, the Minister of Employment and Labour released the much-anticipated vaccination guidelines. These are included in the amended Consolidated Direction on Occupational Health and Safety Measures in certain Workplaces (the “Directive”). While some have interpreted the Directive as giving employers carte blanche to impose mandatory vaccination policies, this is not the case ...
The BBC recently published a piece called ‘3D Printing Will Be the Next Big Copyright Fight’. It said this: ‘That moment we’ve been hearing about for years – the one where futuristic-sounding 3D printing becomes ubiquitous – is actually upon us.’ It dealt with a topic that’s also referred to as ‘additive manufacturing’ ...
On 14 October 2022, the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, in terms of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (“FICA”) made amendments to the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Control Regulations, 2002, which will come into force on 14 November 2022. In terms of these amendments, the prescribed amount for reporting cash transactions under section 28 of FICA to the Financial Intelligence Centre has increased from ZAR24 999 to ZAR49 999.99 ...
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 ...
A story that was widely reported on in the United Kingdom (“UK”) gives us an interesting insight into the world of copyright. A long time ago – some 22 years to be precise – a songwriter by the name of Richard Ashcroft assigned (transferred) the copyright in a hugely successful song calledBitter Sweet Symphonyperformed by a band called The Verve. If no bells are ringing, I suggest that you Google the song, chances are you will recognise it immediately ...
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 ...
In South Africa, copyright judgments are few and far between, especially judgments of the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”). This makes the recent case of Tellytrack v Marshalls World of Sport (Pty) Ltd and others, worth noting, even if it does deal with a somewhat esoteric issue. The case concerned the world of horse racing ...
“The degree of consumer care is becoming more heightened as the novelty of the Internet evaporates and online commerce becomes commonplace.” This quote, which comes from a United States (“US”) decision, is quoted in the South African Supreme Court of Appeal’s (“SCA’s”) judgment in the so-called “Clearvu case” – Cochrane Steel Products (Pty) Ltd v M-Systems Group (Pty) Ltd and Another (unreported case no. 227/2015, 27 May 2016) ...
Every now and then, a dispute comes along that adds an extraordinary amount to the law. One such dispute is the Clearvu trade mark case.We have reported on the case of Cochrane Steel Products (Pty) Ltd v M-Systems Group (Pty) Ltd on a number of occasions. This was the case in which a South African court had to consider whether or not it is unlawful for a company to bid on the trade mark of a competitor as a keyword/search term ...
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 terms of ordinary contract principles, if an employee commits an act of serious misconduct, this constitutes a breach of contract. This breach alone does not terminate the contract of employment. The employer can elect to either “accept” the breach or “reject” it. If the employer accepts the breach, it is this election of the employer to accept the breach that terminates the contract. This would, in common law terminology, constitute a dismissal ...
A judgment “peppad” with advice A recent South African court decision neatly summarises some of the major issues that need to be considered when comparing trade marks in South Africa. In the case of Dinnermates (Tvl) CC v Piquante Brands International (Pty) Ltd and Another, the facts were that a company applied to register the trade mark PEPPAMATE and a device depicting a pepper with a stalk in classes 29, 30 and 31 ...
Many of us are aware of the popular myth that ostriches believe burying their heads in the sand will make them invisible to predators. In other words, an “if I can’t see you, you can’t see me” approach. Even though scientists will tell you that this is not true, the approach seems to bear a resemblance to the online behaviour of some humans ...
More than a year after the start of the COVID-19 lockdown, many citizens have adopted a lax approach to mask wearing, social distancing and sanitisation. However, a recent Labour Court judgment in South Africa indicates that employers may, within reason, be able to fairly dismiss employees for not adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols ...
The Parliament of Rwanda recently passed two key laws to counter money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (“WMDs”), in an effort to strengthen and increase confidence in its financial system. Law No. 74/2019 of 29 January 2020 establishing the Financial Intelligence Centre (“Law No ...
The relationship between parody and IP rights comes up quite often. Just recently the Advocate General of Europe’s highest court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), handed down his opinion in the case of Deckmyn, a case which involves the allegedly parodic use by a Belgian political party of a comic in which there is copyright ...
