South Africa: Intellectual Property

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Intellectual property law and copyright law thought leadership, articles, podcasts, videos and webinars from expert sources across the legal world. Explore insights covering topics such as licensing and syndication, patent law, trade secrets and trademark law.

From Template To Trade Mark: Is Your Logo Legally Yours?

In today's digital-first world, graphic design platforms like Canva and Adobe Express have become indispensable tools for entrepreneurs.

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

Gaga Over Labubu

Labubu, first a mystical book creature and creation of Kasing Lung, recently took the world by storm as a collectible plush toy, developed and marketed by Pop Mart.

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

Laced-Up Logic: Supreme Court Ruling Draws A Clear Line Between Trade Mark Infringement And Counterfeiting

When can genuine, brand name goods still be labelled "counterfeit"? The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has just answered that question in Yossi Barel v Popular Trading CC (handed down 23 June 2025) – and its guidance will matter to every South African company that imports, distributes or enforces branded products...

South Africa IP

BI

Barnard Inc.

Supreme Court Rules Authentic Designer Goods Can't Be Called Counterfeit: Will The Real Enrico Coveri Please Stand Up?

South Africa's highest court has delivered a landmark ruling that authentic designer goods cannot be seized as counterfeits, even when imported without permission from local trade mark holders.

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

Counterfeit Mobile Phones Destroyed

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

Securing Intellectual Property Ownership In Outsourced Product Development

South Africa IP

BI

Barnard Inc.

Shop Manager Fined For Selling Fake Mobile Phones

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

Geographical Indication Leads To Pepper Festival

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

A Sanguinary Problem

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

OAPI-AGF Partnership To Finance A Thousand Innovative African Projects By 2030

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

The Dupe Dilemma

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

Pov: Going Green? A Trade Mark Perspective

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

EUIPO Rejects Thom Browne's Four-stripe Position Mark: Lack Of Distinctiveness

South Africa IP

I

Inventa

ARIPO 2025: Key Changes To Patents And Designs

South Africa IP

I

Inventa

What Every Developer Needs To Know About Township Establishment

South Africa Real Estate

BI

Barnard Inc.

New South African Plant Breeders' Rights Law Comes Into Effect

South Africa Government

AA

Adams & Adams

Application For Leave To Appeal Landmark Crypto Judgment

South Africa Technology

E

ENS

Standard Bank vs. SARB: Important Ruling On Cryptocurrencies And South African Exchange Controls

South Africa Technology

E

ENS

South African Photographer Accused Of Intellectual Property Infringement

South Africa IP

E

ENS

Copyright

Securing Intellectual Property Ownership In Outsourced Product Development

Innovation often relies on collaborations between operational companies and outsourced development specialists.

South Africa IP

BI

Barnard Inc.

A Tale Of Charms And Copycats – The Poetry IP Scandal

This story is currently making headlines in South Africa, with well-known and beloved local brand, Poetry, embroiled in a growing controversy over alleged design imitation and intellectual property infringement...

South Africa IP

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ENS

Dua Lipa May Be Levitating, But South African Copyright Law Is Pretty Static

We don't get as many opportunities to write on copyright matters as we would like, but we now have a great opportunity to write about a copyright dispute...

South Africa IP

E

ENS

Compulsory Licences - The ALLCOPY Copyright Case

South Africa IP

E

ENS

South Africa's Copyright Amendment Bill: Balancing Creators' Rights And Public Access In The Digital Age

South Africa IP

I

Inventa

Compulsory Licences – Part 2

South Africa IP

E

ENS

Who Really Owns Your Code? Understanding Authorship And Ownership In Software Copyright

South Africa IP

BI

Barnard Inc.

There Is No Such Thing As A "Sole & Exclusive" Licence

South Africa IP

E

ENS

Advancing IP Education In Africa: Highlights From The WIPO-South Africa Summer School On Intellectual Property

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

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Licensing & Syndication

The Apple vs. Optis Patent Dispute: A Lesson In Patent Infringement And Licensing

As patent litigation continues to reshape the tech landscape, the ongoing case between Apple and Optis Cellular Technology highlights...

South Africa IP

E

ENS

Viewing The SARB's Exchange Control Revisions Through An IP Licensing Lens

A recent scenario involved a South African company structuring an intellectual property (IP) licensing agreement with an offshore partner.

South Africa IP

FW

Fairbridges Wertheim Becker

How Copyright Applies To Free-to-copy Open-source Software

"There is nothing new under the sun" – a fact truer than ever in the information age. More specifically, open-source software has propelled the world into an era where developers...

South Africa IP

BI

Barnard Inc.

Foreign Electronic Certification Service Providers Now Recognised By The CA

South Africa Media & IT

B

Bowmans

TikTok: Now To The Copyright And Political Issues

E

ENS

Proposed Changes To South African Exchange Controls Relating To The Transfer And License Of SA-Owned Intellectual Property

South Africa International

AA

Adams & Adams

Compulsory Licenses In A Pandemic

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

Relaxation Of South Africa's Exchange Control Regulations Pertaining To IP Transactions

South Africa IP

KI

KISCH IP

ICASA Publishes Information Memorandum On High-Demand Spectrum

South Africa IP

E

ENS

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Patent

Counterfeit Mobile Phones Destroyed

In May, Botswana's Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) destroyed a large quantity of counterfeit and pirated goods, including fake mobile telephones and earbuds.

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

A Sanguinary Problem

Similarly to the British Patents Act and the European Patent Convention, the South African Patents Act excludes from patentability a method...

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

OAPI-AGF Partnership To Finance A Thousand Innovative African Projects By 2030

The African Organization for Intellectual Property (OAPI) and the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) have launched an ambitious initiative to finance a thousand innovative projects across several African countries by 2030.

South Africa IP

AA

Adams & Adams

ARIPO 2025: Key Changes To Patents And Designs

South Africa IP

I

Inventa

New South African Plant Breeders' Rights Law Comes Into Effect

South Africa Government

AA

Adams & Adams

Understanding The Financials: Principled Negotiations During IP Valuation

South Africa IP

BI

Barnard Inc.

In-Depth: Principled Negotiations After Your IP Portfolio Has Been Valued

South Africa IP

BI

Barnard Inc.

The Apple vs. Optis Patent Dispute: A Lesson In Patent Infringement And Licensing

South Africa IP

E

ENS

The X Corp (Formerly Twitter) Patent Infringement Drama

South Africa IP

E

ENS

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Trade Secrets

Putting The "Claws" Into A Restraint Of Trade

In an increasingly competitive business landscape, one of the most common legal tools to protect a company's trade secrets, confidential information, and customer relationships, is a restraint of trade clause.

South Africa Employment

BI

Barnard Inc.

Trade Secrets - China And South Africa

Trade secrets play an important, yet somewhat surprisingly low key, role in intellectual property (IP) law. In this article, we discuss a recent trade secrets case in China.

E

ENS

Nobel Prize In The Bag – Time To Make Money

There was a fascinating article in the IPKat blog about the AI programme AlphaFold recently. So, what is this all about...

South Africa IP

E

ENS

High Court Of Uganda Delivers Landmark Judgment On Copyright Dispute: Knight Frank Uganda Ltd v Broll Uganda Ltd And Broll Valuation & Advisory Services

South Africa IP

E

ENS

Copy Or Compete? Unpacking The Shein vs. Temu Legal Showdown

South Africa IP

E

ENS

Spoofed! Protecting Your Intellectual Property From Digital Fakes

South Africa IP

BI

Barnard Inc.

Intellectual Property Valuation: How Long Is A Piece Of String?

South Africa IP

BI

Barnard Inc.

Technical Systems And Secrets

South Africa IP

E

ENS

Trade Secrets Revisited

South Africa IP

E

ENS

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Latest Videos

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Podcast | OFM | A Trademark Is The Most Valuable Asset That A Business Owns (Video)

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ENS

Lack Of Global Consensus On Rules For The Taxation Of Multinationals And The Risk Of A Global Trade War (Video)

PN

PwC Nigeria

Spirit Of The Law - Copyright Protection In The Digital Era Of Publishing (Video)

KI

KISCH IP

Protect Your Brand – Advice To Start-Ups (Video Content)

T

TripleOKLaw

Social Media Images - When Can You Use Them (Video Content)

PP

Phukubje Pierce Masithela Attorneys

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