The background can be summarised simply: South Africa’s state broadcaster, the SABC, commissioned a filmmaker to make an investigative documentary for its factual genre TV channel. The filmmaker made the documentary and the SABC paid the fee (thus making it the owner of the copyright in the documentary under South African law). However, the SABC decided against airing the documentary ...
In addition to registering your trade mark with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (“CIPC”), brand owners should also ensure that their trade marks are protected online. One way of doing so, is by registering a domain name. What is a domain name? A domain name allows a party to establish its identity on the internet. It assists internet users to easily identify you on the internet and to access your site on the web ...
Government has proposed that companies and individuals no longer need the South African Reserve Bank’s approval 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 ...
On February 23, 2017, Law N°21,000 (the “Law”) was published in the Official Gazette of Chile, creating the Commission for the Financial Market (the “Commission”), a professional body and technical entity that will replace the current Superintendency of Securities and Insurance (“ SVS “). The Law will enter into force in August 2018, or at an earlier date if the Commission becomes operational sooner ...
The World Bank Group has released its Doing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity for All report. This is the 14th in an annual series of reports providing objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement in 190 economies ...
Political uncertainty dominates the headlines, with the fallout from Brexit continuing, leadership changes in the USA and further elections soon to take place across Europe. The legal landscape in Scotland also continues to change ...
Russia has significantly revised its arbitration laws by adopting two Federal Laws (hereinafter referred to as “Arbitration Laws”)1, which came into effect on September 01, 2016. The main aim of the arbitration reform in Russia was elimination of so-called “pocket” arbitration institutions and improvement of overall quality of arbitration process in Russia ...
The largest U.S.-based for-profit multi- campus international university became the first benefit corporation to go public on February 1, 2017 raising $490 million. This is a significant financial event and shows that the financial markets are available to companies that combine a positive social and environmental purpose along with shareholder profit ...
On 1 January 2017, the Liechtenstein reform of the private limited company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung; "GmbH") entered into force. While being highly popular in many other European countries, the GmbH in the past led a merely marginal existence in Liechtenstein ...
Comment letters issued in 2016 by the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reporting E&P companies relating to their 2015 annual reports continue, as in past years, to focus on disclosure issues such as the effects of low commodity prices and proved undeveloped reserves (PUD) conversion rates ...
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 ...
Africa tax in brief NIGERIA: 2017 Budget presented to National Assembly Highlights of the new treaty include: ANGOLA: Budget Bill, 2017 approved and adopted by National Assembly On 17 November 2016, the National Assembly approved the Budget Bill, 2017. The final version of Budget Law, 2017 was adopted by the National Assembly on 14 December 2016 ...
Occupational Health and Safety Act – important notification of draft Ergonomics Regulations, 2017On Friday, 27 January 2017, a notice (GNR.64) was published in Government Gazette No. 40578, in terms of which the Minster of Labour gave notice of her intention to make Ergonomics Regulations in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 ...
In December 2016, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) handed down a rare patent judgment in Pasadena Leather Products CC t/a Pasadena Products and another v Resca and another. In a very measured judgment, the SCA sets out in clear and basic terms how one goes about establishing whether or not a patent has been infringed. This judgment will therefore be very useful for laymen and non-IP specialists ...
Yuppies – do they confuse you? Late last year, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) handed down an important trade mark judgment in Yuppiechef Holdings (Pty) Ltd v Yuppie Gadgets Holdings (Pty) Ltd. The case dealt with that thorny issue that bedevils so many trade mark cases – confusing similarity. The facts were fairly straightforward. Yuppiechef is an online retail business that specialises in kitchen and household goods ...
First published in October 2003, the National Code of Corporate Governance for Mauritius (“the Code”) was revised in 2016 to align it with new laws and guidelines in Mauritius, as well as to recognise, learn and apply governance lessons from the global financial crisis, and identify and apply international best practices for Mauritius to remain a jurisdiction of choice with the highest standards of corporate governance in Africa ...
Summary Amendments to Japan’s Act on Protection of Personal Information (“APPI”) (“Amendments”) were passed by the Diet on 3rd September 2015; some provisions, mainly those establishing and governing the Personal Information Protection Commission (“Commission”), are in force, and it has now been announced that the remaining provisions will be implemented on 30th May 2017 (“Implementation Date”), though regulations and guidelines setting out
The impacts of the Americans with Disabilities Act loom largest in the public consciousness in the form of handicap-accessible parking spaces and entrance ramps — accommodations for physical access to public premises. But under the law, it also appears that businesses must make sure their websites and mobile apps are ADA-compliant. Derek Edwards is a partner at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, where he specializes in financial services litigation ...
INCREASE OF FINES FOR DATA PROTECTION BREACHES Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, We would like to inform you of the proposed changes to the Russian Code of the Administrative Offences (hereinafter the “Code of Administrative Offenses”). These changes are aimed at increasing and differentiating administrative liability for violation of Russian personal data protection legislation ...
Changes to the UAE Penal Code (Federal Law No. 3 of 1987) (the “Penal Code”) at the end of 2016 have (i) extended the current bribery provisions to include bribery involving a foreign public official or an official of an international organisation, (ii) increased the penalties for committing a bribery-related offence and (iii) criminalised the offering of a bribe in the private sector ...
Advertising in the Federation of Bosnia & Hercegovina is regulated through a series of laws and regulations (example: Law on Consumer Protection of BiH, Law on Media, Law on Medical Products etc.), but with the new Law on Prohibited Advertising (Official Gazette of FBiH 101 / 16, the "Law"), which entered into force on 31.12 ...
Karanovic & Nikolic is pleased to announce that Rastko Petakovic has been elected as Managing Partner. Rastko takes over the firm's leading position from Dejan Nikolic who served as Managing Partner until 2016.Rastko's dedication and energy was evident from the beginning of his career when he joined the firm as a legal trainee back in 2005 ...
Near the tail-end of 2016, the Serbian Competition Commission initiated an investigation for an alleged competition infringement that took place in June of the same year. The infringement involved a failure to notify a merger for mandatory clearance. The transaction in question concerned an unreported acquisition of sole control on the IT market ...
In the post-recession economy, investment managers are looking for increased flexibility and ways to maximise investor returns by minimising set up costs, government fees and other related functionary and advisory costs. That is why many are now “Brexiting” to the British Virgin Islands. For years, the Cayman Islands has held the title of the world’s largest offshore fund domicile. Being the most well-known, it was the safe choice for investment managers ...
