Etraction up next in #sandtondiscussion

Monday's #SandtonDiscussion arranged by Lita is lead by Stephen Hollis (@orcagunslinger) and covers the recent appeal court decision in Etraction and the detail over prior use defenses.

The case was neatly summarised here by Jeremy Speres who will also be joining the conversation. It should be another good one and you also are very welcome to take part over twitter using the #sandtondiscussion.

I must mention a word of caution though; speed tweeting during these sessions can easily lead to spelling mistakes so please be careful when using "etraction" and "use" or "prior use", the auto-correct combination can truly be scandalous (as I found out just a moment ago)!

Last week's discussion really was interesting. We were joined by none other then Julius Stobbs of Stobbs IP who provided some excellent insight into how UK practitioners are structuring their questionnaires and advertising to show/explain that shapes are not merely recognised as distinctive features but function as independent trade marks. John Ndlovu did a great job canvassing the tricky terrain between South African case law and that of Europe. Some highlights include:

Darn it! Slept through my alarm for #sandtondiscussion and instead dreamt I was there in person. :( oh well. Had good guava juice.

— goldenrail (@Ivoryblossum) June 15, 2015

More and more decisions hinging on balancing tm monopoly v fair competition #sandtondiscussion

— Lita Qamata (@LQamata) June 15, 2015

Same goes for limping trade marks- must be able to function independently and indicate origin #sandtondiscussion

— Maureen Thuto Makoko (@MaureenThuto) June 15, 2015

amusing myself watching @Reinhrdt going through biscuits in this #sandtondiscussion like brendan venter in a disciplinary hearing.

— Brother Nic (@nicrosslee) June 15, 2015