If an employer suspects an employee of committing an act of misconduct, it is possible that the employer will want to place that employee on what is usually referred to as a “precautionary suspension”. The question that arises is whether the employer must give the employee a chance to make representations on why he or she should not to be suspended, prior to a decision being taken in this regard ...
Market inquiries have become a prominent feature of the South African competition law landscape. Historically, the Competition Act, 1998 did not afford the Competition Commission (the“Commission”) the power to take binding remedial action. The Commission was limited to producing reports containing non-binding “recommendations” or lobbying for changes to the way business is done following a market inquiry ...
The recent end of the value-added tax (“VAT”) relief period for property developers in South Africa, who temporarily let their residential units, may have a significant impact on their cash flow. BackgroundOrdinarily, property developers acquire or develop fixed property (including residential properties) for the purpose of resale ...
The South African Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (“B-BBEE”) Commission recently issued a non-binding practice guide regarding the enhanced recognition status for exempted micro-enterprises (“EMEs”) and qualifying small enterprises (“QSEs”) through the application of the modified flow-through principle ...
The Porsche 911 is undoubtedly an iconic car. Instant product recognition is, of course, something that most companies strive for. But fame and familiarity can create their own problems when it comes to issues of intellectual property. Porsche recently suffered a setback when the EU General Court upheld a decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office to cancel certain design registrations relating to the appearance of the Porsche 911 ...
With the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 ("POPIA") deadline closing in on 1 July 2021, many organisations are starting to feel the mounting pressure of becoming compliant with POPIA. A good starting point in any POPIA compliance journey is the appointment of an Information Officer for your organisation. Who is the Information Officer? POPIA, by default, designates the head of any private body as the Information Officer ...
On 11 March 2021, the Information Regulator published an invitation to apply for prior authorisation, together with a Guidance Note, on the application for prior authorisation and the form to be used by responsible parties in obtaining such prior authorisation. The invitation to apply for prior authorisation encourages responsible parties to submit their applications as soon as possible ...
It has been long-established by the classic fundamental principles of corporate law that companies are separate and distinct persons from their shareholders, directors and officers. From this flows the general principle that it is the company, and the company alone, that can be liable for its obligations ...
In terms of section 29 of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act 39 of 2004 (“NEMAQA”), which provides for pollution prevention plans: “(1) the Minister of Environmental Affairs (the “Minister”) may: (a) declare any substance contributing to air pollution as a priority air pollutant; and (b) require persons falling within a category specified in the notice to prepare, submit to the Minister or MEC1 for approval, and implement pollut
Section 66 of the South African Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (“PFMA”) places certain restrictions on the powers of national and provincial public entities, government departments and constitutional institutions (“public institutions”) in regard to specified transactions, namely borrowing, the issue of guarantees, indemnities and security, and entering into transactions that bind or may bind that public institution or the revenue fund to any other so-called future f
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 ...
An article that appeared in the South AfricanDaily Mavericknews site, “Plain packaging for cigarettes is a bad idea”,suggests that the plain packaging debate is not yet over. A recap We’ve discussed plain packaging for cigarettes on a number of occasions. We’ve looked at how Australia has been at the forefront of this issue, with 2011 legislation requiring all brands of cigarettes to be sold in identical green packs featuring graphic images ...
There was an interesting decision in the US recently about the intellectual property (IP) implications of posting a photo on Twitter. The facts were that a professional photographer by the name of Daniel Morel – a man who has apparently spent over 25 years in Haiti – posted dramatic photos of the earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010 shortly after the event ...
The World Pension Summit (Africa), first of its kind in Africa, was hosted in Abuja on 7 and 8 July 2014. The summit focused on African developments in the pension industry and coincided with the 10th anniversary of the pension reform in Nigeria that led to the enactment of the Pension Reform Act No 2 of 2004 (“the 2004 Act”) ...
Is the current international tax focus on base erosion and profit shifting (“BEPS”) relevant for tax-exempt pension funds? In particular, should the trustees and/or administrators of pension funds take note of the finalisation by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) of the 15 point action plan to address BEPS? Both of these questions should be answered “yes” by South African pension funds that invest outside of the country ...
Digital rights management (“DRM”) refers to the methods used by content owners to protect their digital content. A number of methods can be used to control and restrict access and usage of digital material. Popular DRM mechanisms include password protecting a digital file/content, as well as platform DRM, which is typically deployed by online streaming platforms and electronic databases to restrict access to content that users are required to pay for ...
In the case of Claremont Library Development Company (Pty) Ltd v The Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service, the Tax Court recently considered the question of whether crediting a loan account constitutes “payment” of full consideration for purposes of the Value-Added Tax Act, No 89 of 1991 (the “VAT Act”) ...
Possession, as they say, is nine tenths of the law. Generally in commercial litigation where, for example, a claim for an outstanding amount is brought against a party, such party is not required to make payment to the claimant until a court has adjudicated on the matter. However, when it comes to matters of tax, the Tax Administration Act, No ...
In this article, ENSafrica looks at a dramatic legislative shift which could soon see the following fundamental changes to South Africa’s employment law: · the effective recognition that fathers (or other parents, whether male or female, who may not otherwise be entitled to maternity leave) will be entitled to what is being referred to as “parental leave”; · the formal recognition of “adoption leave” by law; · the stat
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 ...
“We are both created and create. Why cannot our own creations also create?” What a week First we heard that a South African patent for an invention that lists artificial intelligence (“AI”) as its inventor had been issued, a world first. Then we heard that an Australian court had handed down a judgment allowing AI to be listed as the inventor of a corresponding patent in Australia ...
The 41st session of the administrative council of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (“ARIPO”) recently took place in Lilongwe, Malawi. Several documents on the administrative aspects of the organisation were discussed at the meeting, including the proposed programme of activities for 2018, and proposals to amend some ARIPO treaties to continually keep them in line with international trends ...
Patent landscaping: the road to success Patent landscaping analysis, or patent mapping, involves the electronic search and analysis of the vast amount of available online published patent data in order to extract meaningful and valuable technical, business and legal information ...
