Circulating with SAIIPL, dotAfrica, ASA and Silverware

Circulating with SAIIPL, dotAfrica, ASA and Silverware

By Afro Leo   Monday, July 10, 2017   No comments:

Several years ago the irrepressible Dr Madelein Kleyn revived the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law’s newsletter – “IP Briefs”. Afro-IP is pleased to announce that it will assist SAIIPL and Dr Kleyn disseminate the news through the blog in a bid to make the information more accessible.

We start with this month’s newsletter published just recently. In this issue Prof Karjiker provides his perspective on Herbal Zone v Infitech, a triumvirate of talent from CIPC (Sher-Muhammad Kahn, Christiaan Steyn and Warren Rossouw) unpack shape marks in a comprehensive exposé,  Chezanne Haigh from Kisch IP takes a bite at the Kit Kat four finger decision, Darren Olivier provides tips for franchising, Alessia del Bianco provides an in-house perspective on creative IP management, Darren Margo is relaxed over the latest exchange control amendments, and the editor contributes with a nifty piece on SME’s and IP. 

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On Friday Afro-Buff stuck his horn in it by recording that the world’s largest lithium battery may have been destined for Jamestown, SA when in fact it is actually Jamestown, SA. Huh? .. well the difference between them is roughly an ocean, one SA being in South Africa and the other in Southern Australia.

“The post has since been corrected and I hope, unlike the Bell Pottinger apology, largely accepted” said the red faced buffalo on Friday.

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News on the ASA seems to be getting even better. Those companies supporting them that were listed on the blog on Friday reflected the list of supporters on the ASA website. That page (on their website) lists those supporters that have actually paid. Afro Leo now understands that there are a whole heap more that have pledged but not yet paid! That’s got to be good news. Remember if you want to lend them your support, just send them a note here. C’mon IP firms, a fully functioning ASA is good for you too.

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For those interested in the dotAfrica domain name space developments, Tuesday, 04 July 2017 was the start of .africa’s General Availability phase where anyone can register .africa domains through Registrars listed here:http://registry.africa/registrars/. You can find more information on that development here.

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Finally, Afro-IP is pleased to announce that unlike Liverpool (afraid so, Jeremy Speres), they have some silverware in 2017. News just in is that this little community interested in spreading news and views on African intellectual property is ranked in the Top 100  IP blogs in the World. Considering that there are more blogs than impala in mating season these days, that is no mean feat.

Just remember, if you want to get involved, you can in a number of ways. You can contribute by sending us information to report, by commenting on the blog posts in the comment column, by submitting a guest post (ask for the style guide first), by becoming a regular contributor or by taking up one of the characters. Please just email us here.

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SAIIPL Dinner (Saturday) and AGM (tomorrow) - be there!

SAIIPL Dinner (Saturday) and AGM (tomorrow) - be there!

By Afro Leo   Tuesday, November 04, 2014   1 comment:

On Saturday evening this blogger had the pleasure of attending the SAIIPL annual dinner held at Silver Lakes (yes, the place near where Oscar shot Reeva). Sat between SAIIPL organiser extraordinaire  Marie-Louise Grobler and fun members of the growing firm Bredenkamp Attorneys, I learnt many things.

The first and most important for members of the Institute is that the AGM is tomorrow Wednesday 14h30 at Irene Country Club. You won't get any shootings but you will be guaranteed a lively agenda. The Institute is one of the largest and most important organisations for IP on the continent with a 300 strong membership. But it needs you.

Secondly, it is clear to me that very few SAIIPL members attending INTA will be staying at the Sheraton who had, just a week or so before the black tie event on Saturday apparently cancelled the booking for a wedding of the rich and famous. We got bumped and many had to cancel bookings at the hotel. It's at times like this we need to look at the Institute's profile, I mean why are we getting bumped? :). I believe it is agenda item 2 at the AGM. Be there.

Thirdly, did you know that Marie-Louise pilots helicopters for fun and arrived at the dinner having just shot 83 on the golf course!? This is how she keeps sane managing 300 members, a host of sub committees and helping the Institute to remain relevant, something she explained to me has become quite a task over the last 10 years as the Institute's views have recently been shunned by government. I think this is item 3, related to item 2. Be there.

Fourthly (is that right?), for those who don't know Bredenkamp Attorneys (who embraced me as one of their own at the table, figuratively I mean), they have just recently lured Brian Wimpey (ex head of IP at Norton Rose) to bolster their services, now offered through offices in both Pretoria and Sandton. They are a bit different. Brian wears his trade mark earring and used to have parrot, and Karel does not mind fixing pumps at his farm when not drafting or litigating on patent specs. I am sure they will be represented at the AGM. So be there!

Brand Pretorious

Finally, anyone who didn't think that key note speaker on Saturday, Brand Pretorious, was not simply outstanding, probably did not attend the dinner. His talk was the best I have listened to and whilst that may not be saying much, since I am writing this post I felt like saying it! Well done Adelhart for getting him there. Brand won't be at the AGM tomorrow. But you need to be.

Hope to see you there.

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Stellenbosch IP Conference: Part 4

Stellenbosch IP Conference: Part 4

By Darren Olivier   Monday, September 19, 2011   No comments:

Part 4: For links to Parts 1, 2 and 3 click here.

Harms started the morning session with a paper entitled “The Ossification of IP Law in South Africa”.

RSA laws are not adapting at the rate appropriate for sustainable development. This is not the first time Harms has said so and Afro Leo was able to scribble down notes of his discontent over “misfiling and lost files”, “delays in processing trade marks at CIPRO”, the “state of our legislation” eg Counterfeit Goods Act conflicts with the Customs Act. Yet we carry on regardless … “on the rims” and his view that the proposed Traditional Knowledge legislation “will kill IP as we know it”.

Harms was critical of the Government’s apathetic attitude toward IP and their perception that it is “for rich countries” citing several examples that illustrate the direct relationship between patent applications and economic growth. He felt that there is only a reaction when “parochial issues hit Government in the eye” eg the latest ant-counterfeiting Government initiative.

He also pointed out that practitioners are failing to create arguable cases on the issues. His talk was peppered with interesting personal anecdotes and examples but was not intended to be “profound”. He concluded that there is a “vital role in revitalising the subject [IP in RSA]”.

Next up was SAIIPL president, Tshepo Shabangu speaking on "Future Challenges [for SAIIPL] for Intellectual Property Law and its Practice in South Africa".

She focused on three key areas; the lack of appropriately skilled IP specialists in the judiciary [and what can be done about it, highlighting an international trend toward specialist courts, and possibilities of lawyers and advocates sitting as adjudicators]; the need for SAIIPL to train and educate [which it does] and its ability to assist draft (or have an impact on) new legislation [blunted by a lack of trust and perception that it serves only its self interest i.e. mainly law firms].

Mr P Siemsen (Danneman Siemsen) shared his thoughts on IP and its relationship with sport as an instrument that could be used for economic growth in developing economies. Essentially, “IP is a very important tool to ensure possibilities that sport can deliver to developing countries”.

The next slot could have sparked debate for a week. Ginsburg, Gielen and Bereskin took us to that feint edge between trade mark rights and freedom of speech using RSA’s famous Laugh it Off case as a main reference. All three speakers were a treat and the presence of Harms (who gave the AD Laugh it Off decision) in the audience caused a natural and at times, humorous, tension. In a few words, dilution is only reserved for a very limited set of circumstances and the panel was, perhaps surprisingly, split as to whether Laugh it Off had been correctly decided by the Constitutional Court.

Congrats to the Chair on their first effort. 

Afro Leo departed with a sense that there is much frustration and dismay at where IP is going in South Africa. In order to influence future changes he feels that those skilled in IP will need to figure out a new way of working with Government, a way that takes IP (and more specifically, the changes required within it) from its esoteric (a word used by a recent past SAIIPL president when describing the profession) and perceived elitist perch to a point where it can be understood by Government (eg measurable job creation), and from a Group that they trust. Government though does not appear to be totally ignorant of what IP and innovation can deliver (as this blog has noted) but needs to trust, engage and implement changes effectively. 

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Tuesday's toffees

Tuesday's toffees

By Darren Olivier   Tuesday, August 18, 2009   No comments:

Algeria has had a Thursday-Friday weekend since 1976, but is now aligning itself with other states in the region that have a Friday-Saturday weekend. However, the change is causing confusion and consternation that it may lead to more long weekends as people adjust. Afro Leo wonders about what happens to that deadline which fell on a Thursday - for more info click here.

A reminder to check alongside the Upcoming Events and to please send Afro Leo details of any events you are organising.

John Syekei has, with thanks, informed Afro-IP that the commencement date of the Kenyan Counterfeit Goods Act was 7 July 2009. John could you let us know if the regulations are in place and whether any raids have been conducted under the Act?

In South Africa, there has been a re-shuffle in the IP profession following the move of two Bowman Gilfillan partners to Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs (ENS). Bowman Gilfillan has recruited an IP partner from another leading local IP firm and UK based IP Counsel from Telefonica (O2). A number of associates also moved between the leading IP firms as a result. ENS is known as a corporate firm in the local environment and their recruitment of the partners indicates an intent to gain credibility for IP work. Meanwhile, the local IP profession celebrated Women's Day with their annual lunch last week Friday. The SAIIPL Golf Day takes place this coming Friday.

Afro Leo is working on an article for MIP on outsourcing IP work to Africa and would welcome any contributions, examples etc of where this is occurring and how effective it has been. Africa can benefit from its low labour costs, favourable exchange rates, small (in number) but highly skilled IP professionals, reducing technology costs, time zone efficiencies, brain drain boomerangs, and recession to put itself in a position to gain from the worldwide need to reduce costs.  All African IP professionals stand gain by Africa making a credible play as an IP outsourcing destination, so Afro Leo is hoping his call is met with enthusiasm. Drop him a note darrentrentolivier@gmail.com.

Alien action film "District 9" topped the box office according to this Washington Post and Reuters report: "District 9," a gritty, low-budget space alien movie set in South Africa with a cast of unknowns, opened as Hollywood's No. 1 film, grossing more at the box office its first weekend than it cost to make. The sci-fi action thriller depicting extraterrestrials as unwanted immigrants stranded in Johannesburg took in $37 million in North America, distributor Sony Pictures said on Sunday. Read the wiki here.

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Noseweek's Thick as IP lawyers ... update

Noseweek's Thick as IP lawyers ... update

By Darren Olivier   Thursday, November 06, 2008   No comments:

Noseweek's taster and our curiosity has shed some light on why IP lawyers are as thick as claimed by Mr Nose... and there is more to this story than a short update in the Punch-like publication as one might expect. The article itself has a go at SAIIPL's reply to a letter of complaint alleging that a local patent attorney had fraudulently altered the complainant's patent application. In effect Mr Nose (in his own direct way) calls the apparent reply, bureaucratic and circular - the reply apparently suggested that the complainant contact his patent attorney for advice. That all said, the update is just one part of a what appears to be a fairly complex series of events reported in Noseweek's September publication under the titles "Playing with Fire" and "Nothing Sinister" in which (in the former article) it is claimed that "a South African inventor has lost his rights to the safe paraffin stove he designed, because a lawyer agreed to draw up an illegal transaction and refused to correct the error". Serious stuff. And there is more in September ... in an article entitled "Bid To SA Hooch" Mr Nose exposes badly drafted letters of demand in trade mark matters.

Noseweek describes itself as "news you are not supposed to know" and one possible reason for its foray into the IP arena is that Hans Muhlberg, a well known commentator on IP issues in South Africa, is its assistant editor. One's first reaction may be that this type of press is not good news for the SA IP profession but is that correct? Should Noseweek's no-punches-pulled-name-and-shame approach not be applauded if there is a case to be answered...and how would you combat the bad press if it was YOU? ... And how big is Afro-Leo's nose? Hans has joined UK firm Beck Greener.

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Noseweek's Thick as IP lawyers

Noseweek's Thick as IP lawyers

By Darren Olivier   Tuesday, October 28, 2008   No comments:

Noseweek's taster for its latest edition reads:

"UPDATES: Thick as intellectual property lawyers

The South African Institute of Intellectual Property Lawyers (SAIIPL) declares on its website that among its objectives is “to act as a disciplinary body that protects the interests of the South African public by ensuring that standards and practices in the field of Intellectual Property Law are maintained”.".....

I am dead keen to know why we are "thick" but cannot find myself parting with R278 (the Noseweek susbcription) to find out.

Can anyone enlighten all of us? Mr Welz - it would be for a good cause...

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