Africa: Intellectual Property

As celebrities like Taylor Swift, Luke Littler, and Matthew McConaughey increasingly turn to trade mark law to protect their voices, faces, and personal likenesses from AI-generated deepfakes, a critical question emerges: can trade mark registration truly safeguard personal identity in the age of generative AI? This article examines the legal strategies, commercial rationale, and inherent limitations of using trade mark law as a shield against unauthorized exploitation of celebrity personas.

The global sports industry generates billions in revenue through broadcasting, sponsorships, and merchandising, with intellectual property rights serving as the invisible currency that determines ownership and profit. As Nigerian athletes command increasing global attention, this analysis examines whether they possess the legal tools and awareness necessary to protect and monetize their personal brands in an industry where image rights, trademarks...

China's elimination of tariffs on Nigerian imports presents unprecedented market access to 1.4 billion consumers, but Nigerian exporters face critical intellectual property vulnerabilities...

The digital revolution has transformed the global film and creative industry by changing the way films and audiovisual content are produced, distributed, and consumed. Streaming platforms, social media applications, and digital marketplaces now allow creators to distribute content instantly to audiences across the world.

A South African court has delivered a decisive ruling on the limits of post-employment competition, finding that two senior employees unlawfully used their former employer's proprietary software, client relationships, and confidential information to launch a competing business. The judgment reinforces that fiduciary duties can extend beyond employment termination and that building a business on a former employer's investment constitutes unlawful springboarding rather than legitimate entrepreneurship.

As celebrities like Taylor Swift, Luke Littler, and Matthew McConaughey increasingly turn to trade mark law to protect their voices, faces, and personal likenesses from AI-generated deepfakes, a critical question emerges: can trade mark registration truly safeguard personal identity in the age of generative AI? This article examines the legal strategies, commercial rationale, and inherent limitations of using trade mark law as a shield against unauthorized exploitation of celebrity personas.

A South African court has delivered a decisive ruling on the limits of post-employment competition, finding that two senior employees unlawfully used their former employer's proprietary software, client relationships, and confidential information to launch a competing business. The judgment reinforces that fiduciary duties can extend beyond employment termination and that building a business on a former employer's investment constitutes unlawful springboarding rather than legitimate entrepreneurship.

China's elimination of tariffs on Nigerian imports presents unprecedented market access to 1.4 billion consumers, but Nigerian exporters face critical intellectual property vulnerabilities...

From the Industrial Property Code of 2007 to the new comprehensive reforms of 2025, Cape Verde’s legal system has undergone a dramatic transformation that goes beyond incremental adjustments. Lawmakers pursued a broader reform that reflects the country’s changing economy and its deeper integration into the global IP landscape.

Zambia has published new regulations under The Patents Act, 2016, introducing procedural and administrative updates that modernise the country's intellectual property framework. These regulations provide greater clarity on filing requirements, timelines, and formalities, replacing the previous practice of reading the 2016 Act alongside regulations from the former Act.

We currently live in an era where the most valuable assets of a corporation may never be seen, touched, or physically inspected. Patents governing life-saving pharmaceutical compounds, trademarks representing decades of consumer trust, software architectures powering digital economies, and trade secrets encoding proprietary processes have displaced machinery, land, and buildings as the primary reservoirs of corporate wealth.

A South African High Court ruling has revoked 16 registered designs for arched deck boards, finding that pre-registration commercial disclosures destroyed their novelty.