South Africa: Corporate and Company Law

When acquiring a business, the purchase price often reflects intangible assets like customer relationships, reputation, and market position. How can purchasers protect the goodwill they've paid for when sellers may be positioned to immediately compete using the same relationships and knowledge that contributed to the transaction value?

South African law enables trade mark owners to challenge conflicting company names immediately upon registration, long before any actual trading occurs. Understanding the interaction between the Companies Act and Trade Marks Act reveals how early intervention can prevent brand confusion, protect market position, and avoid costly enforcement battles down the line.

The Tax Court in Cape Town has ruled on a dividend stripping arrangement used in the sale of a self-storage business, applying South Africa's general anti-avoidance rules to a structure where shareholders attempted to convert taxable capital gains into exempt intercompany dividends. Following the Constitutional Court's recent decision in Absa Bank Ltd v SARS, the Court examined whether a pre-acquisition dividend funded by the purchaser's subscription served any purpose beyond tax avoidance, and whether the

Africa in Focus explores a range of legal and regulatory developments shaping investment trends across Africa. In this first edition, we focus on a collection of topics connected by the themes of natural resources, geopolitics, regulatory reform and the rapid growth of digital markets.

In complex transactions, the gap between initial valuation and final price can be substantial.

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.

The recent withdrawal of South Africa’s Draft National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy by the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mr Solly Malatsi...

When a song generates millions of streams across digital platforms, a simple question follows: who actually earns the royalties, and how much do they receive?

When choosing a business name, many founders overlook the hidden risks of selecting something that echoes a famous brand or cultural reference. A recent trademark dispute involving Taylor Swift demonstrates how brand associations—not just identical names—can create serious legal and commercial problems that extend far beyond registration formalities.