Africa

Dedicated anti-counterfeiting legislation and a ‘dual registration system’ are among the measures that demonstrate how seriously counterfeiting is taken in Kenya. Duncan Maguire of Spoor & Fisher Jersey summarises two recent developments

Mandy Swanepoel and Lisa van Zuydam of Adams & Adams offer practical insights on protecting trade dress in South Africa and beyond, using both trademark and non-trademark tools

Megan Dinnie of Spoor & Fisher Jersey reports on the creation of a body designed to adapt to the rapid evolution of IP and harness its potential to drive economic growth

Jeanine Coetzer of Spoor & Fisher highlights several problems with a trademark decision by the Gauteng High Court that has been overturned by the South African Supreme Court of Appeal

Duncan Maguire of Spoor & Fisher Jersey reports on the publication of draft legislation to overhaul an act dating back to 1958 as judgment is passed in a recent case concerning well-known marks

Chris Walters of Spoor & Fisher analyses a novel Tanzanian case concerning the ‘Tiffany’ mark and the ‘well-known’ status test

Wilhelm Prozesky of Adams & Adams and Adv Rory Voller of the CIPC consider the latest patent-related developments from South Africa, in an exclusive podcast

Godfrey Budeli of Adams & Adams explains the key points to consider as Kenya’s Anti-Counterfeit Authority imposes more stringent measures, in the second of a three-part podcast series

Alissa Naran and Nicole Smalberger of Adams & Adams explain the latest developments on protecting trademarks in Africa, in the first of a three-part podcast series

IP judgments in Zimbabwe are unusual, says Chris Walters of Spoor & Fisher Jersey. So the recent Supreme Court decision in Cairns Foods v Netrade Marketing is welcome

Jennifer Colantoni of Spoor & Fisher highlights the key features of the new Industrial Property Act in Mauritius, which comes into force in 2022

Danie Dohmen and Russell Bagnall of Adams & Adams, and in-house counsel Natasha Wright, consider the recent trends in pharmaceutical patent litigation in South Africa and discuss how the enforcement environment evolved during the pandemic

Jenny Pienaar and Kareema Shaik of Adams & Adams consider pharmaceutical registration in the larger African markets, dealing with the challenges of registration and the subsequent enforcement of rights

Godfrey Budeli and Jan-Harm Swanepoel of Adams & Adams explain the latest developments in anti-counterfeiting, in the first of a three-part podcast series on IP enforcement of pharma in Africa

Margaret Le Galle of Spoor & Fisher explains why the Plant Variety Protection Act 2021 will bring Nigerian IP law in line with international norms

Matthew Costard of Spoor & Fisher explains why the Gambia’s ‘British law’ legacy is a cause of concern for ARIPO trademarks

Matthew Costard of Spoor & Fisher welcomes the news that trademark registration is possible, once again, in Somalia

Paul Ramara from Spoor & Fisher explains the importance of relationship-building for brand owners dealing with enforcement authorities and customs officials

In an important development, Mozambique has joined the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation’s (ARIPO) registration system for trademarks. It has been a member of the system for patents for some time.

The UK formally left the EU on January 31 2020, although there is a transitional period running until December 31 2020, and there is a chance that this may be extended. Much has been written about the consequences of Brexit for IP rights.