Tag: Intellectual Property (IP)

The issue of ownership of intellectual property created by artificial intelligence (AI) is provoking heated discussions as the new chatbot “ChatGPT” takes the world by storm. It has raised questions about copyright in the work generated, ownership of copyright, and even possible plagiarism of works by AI.

Read our exclusive cover story titled ChatGPT - who owns the IP? by Lodewyk Cilliers and Dina Biagio, Partners at Spoor & Fisher, and ChatGPT, Language Model Computer Program, OpenAI, plus a host of other topical management articles written by professionals, consultants and academics in the February/March 2023 edition.

In the last decade or two, there have been significant advances in cloud computing, the provision of software-implemented services (Software-as-a-Service or SaaS) and web-based applications. These offerings rely on software that runs on a remote server and are accessed by users from their own computer, via a network connection (rather than being locally installed on the internal memory of a user’s computer).

South African intellectual property (IP) legislation includes the Trademarks Act, Patents Act, Designs Act, Copyright Act and Plant Breeder's Rights Act. Each piece of legislation dealing with the particular IP right concerned, but is it all fit for purpose? 

There are many legal solutions for enforcing your Intellectual Property (IP) rights once you have created an invention.

It was the Roman Statesman, Marcus Tullius Cicero who first used the phrase: Silent enim lēgēs inter arma – In times of war, the law falls silent. These words may still ring true today as the world witnesses the horrifying effects of wars in our time, and the appropriation of property that accompanies them.

Tourism Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu has faced criticism after the publication on 7 January 2022 of her opinion piece entitled 'Hi Mzansi, have we seen justice' in which she criticised the South African judiciary, amongst others. She was accused of committing plagiarism as it was claimed that a large section of her opinion piece incorporated parts of a speech given by former United Kingdom Attorney-General, Dominic Grieve in 2013.

Not resting on its laurels since releasing Squid Game, its most watched series to date, Netflix has been hard at work – filing trade mark applications worldwide to protect the Squid Game name and logos for a wide variety of products and services.

Globally, asset managers can play a decisive role in redirecting institutional and retail investors’ capital towards achieving the decarbonisation goals set by the recent COP26 Climate Change Conference. This is our message following the conference held in Glasgow, Scotland this November, which has singled out capital, or the impactful application of capital, as a vital cog in the world’s climate response machinery.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, industries and businesses across Africa are adapting, including rethinking business strategies and supply chains. For multinational entities (MNEs), business restructuring can have transfer pricing implications too.