Tag: Werksmans Attorneys

There is a complex relationship between privacy and freedom of expression. Both rights are enshrined in the South African Constitution and are essential to a democratic society. The right to privacy safeguards personal autonomy by protecting individuals from undue intrusions into their private lives. Freedom of expression, on the other hand, promotes open debate and the sharing of information, which are vital for democracy.

A registered trademark is vulnerable to revocation or cancellation for non-use if it has not been used for the goods and/or services for which it is registered for a certain amount of time. In most instances this time period is five years and is calculated from the date of registration, as in South Africa and the European Union.

The nature of guarantees has once again been dealt with decisively by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) this time in the matter between Bonifacio and another vs Lombard (Bonifacio). A guarantee is an obligation to make payment upon the occurrence of an event.

The Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA) is an empowering piece of legislation and allows that secretes cannot be hidden in the shadows. The matter of The Health Justice Initiative vs The Minister of Health provides insight from a regulatory point of view, not only since it has consequences for the privacy and information regime but also the procurement regime.

The South African Competition Commission has published its final revised Public Interest Guidelines relating to merger control. The guidelines serve to clarify the commission’s stance on public interest factors as set out in the Competition Act 89 of 1998 (as amended).

At the AI Government Summit on 5 April 2024, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) launched South Africa’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Planning Discussion Document with the purpose of the discussion document being to initiate discussion between the public and private sector to facilitate AI innovation. 

Gone are the days of box-ticking. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has recently imposed administrative sanctions on two financial services providers (FSPs), in each case for failing to comply with certain provisions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA). 

Online shopping is prevalent due to the ease and convenience with which consumers can purchase goods or services. Consumer decisions to purchase branded goods or services range from the repute of the brand and whether there is an event taking place which is endorsed by or associated with the brand for example a major sporting event, to customer reviews.

On 10 October 2023, we published our article titled "the importance of a complete record of arbitration proceedings" in a review application wherein the Labour Court dealt with the importance of and requirement for it to be provided with a full and proper record in review proceedings.

Whether an employee may be dismissed if he/she misrepresented his/her qualifications and/or professional memberships, but nevertheless met the minimum requirements of the position to which he/she was appointed.