Tag: Intellectual Property (IP)

If one accepts that innovation is crucial to business sustainability especially in the disruption era in which we live, there appears to be a need to better explain the purpose of intellectual property and how these rights together with workplace policies on performance can assist businesses adapt and compete.

A case in point is the UK Intellectual Property Office’s (UKIPO) recent decision to refuse French company Les Grands Chais de France’s (LGCF) application for registration for the trade mark 'Nosecco' for non-alcoholic wines. The UKIPO held that the name Nosecco would evoke the image of the increasingly popular geographical indication (GI) Prosecco in consumers’ minds.

Various Discovery companies took Liberty Group Limited to court over Liberty’s use of Discovery’s VITALITY and DISCOVERY registered trademarks in relation to the Liberty Lifestyle Protection Plan.

The Copyright Amendment Bill has caused great uncertainty in South African and global artistic and creative markets. The bill has gone through many revisions and attracted widespread criticism. Today, it awaits and has been waiting for President Ramaphosa’s signature for months. But the whole activity must be restarted due to government’s mishandling of the public participation process. If this is not done, the bill will lack the legitimacy that every government policy requires, particularly from the relevant constituency – in this case, innovators.

Intellectual property (IP) is often overlooked when a business is compelled to seek business rescue or liquidation, but it may form a valuable asset, requiring decisions to be made on whether to sell it or maintain it. In the current economic climate, many businesses will unfortunately find themselves in the unenviable position of having to decide between business rescue and liquidation.

Changes in the way customers expect to engage with the financial services sector and increasing pressure from regulators is compelling financial services companies to come up with innovative ways to manage their data. Financial services businesses view information/data as a significant corporate asset.

As member states of the World Health Organization prepare to gather in Geneva on May 18th for the World Health Assembly, a global coalition of 31 think tanks calls on governments to commit to open trade, collaboration and innovation in the fight against Covid-19 and future disease outbreaks.

With deregulation glinting globally, the cannabis market is expected to explode. New Frontier Data’s Global Cannabis Report: 2019 Industry Outlook estimates that there are around 263 million legal users of cannabis and cannabis-related products worldwide. Africa is home to 83 million of these. The report estimates that the total legal cannabis market hit a value of $344 billion in 2018, and ranks Africa as one of the top five regional markets, accounting for $37.3 billion.

The impact of digitisation on small and medium enterprises is significant. Savvy SMEs can turn this to a huge advantage as they can do things quickly and in a more agile manner than big businesses. However, challenges abound when trying to protect innovative products and processes.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative has set the review hearings of South Africa’s eligibility under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for 30 January 2020. This underscores the urgency for President Ramaphosa to send the Copyright Amendment Bill back to Parliament before we lose out on R12 billion in South African exports to the US.