The Braai Jack One need not butcher the words of Erasmus: South Africans take their barbeque “braai” very seriously. Between sunny weather, idyllic surroundings, family and friends, South Africa lends itself to an afternoon braai. Needless to say, a thriving braai economy has…

“Black Friday” dates all the way back to Philadelphia, 1869. Used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Black Friday has captured the minds, trollies and wallets of shoppers and become a…

ABSA Group Limited, one of Africa’s largest financial service providers, has recently undergone a re-brand. The newly created logo has caused a few debates in South Africa, with its new look and feel and the major launch of the brand…

Diageo PLC, the world’s largest spirits maker and owner of the Johnnie Walker whiskey brand, plans to roll out a whiskey brand called Jane Walker in the USA. This is the latest plan by the company to attract female drinkers….

The African Democratic Change (“ADEC”) party was officially launched on 1 December 2017 in South Africa. A representation of its logo is depicted below:   The African National Congress (“ANC”) member of Parliament, Makhosi Khoza, left the ANC to start…

The soft drink battle of “PEPSI TWIST” versus “LEMON TWIST” continued in South Africa in the Supreme Court of Appeal. In 2006, PepsiCo had applied for the registration of the trade mark “PEPSI TWIST”. Atlantic Industries (“Atlantic”), a wholly owned…

On the back of last month’s article regarding the new .africa domain name registration, we received many enquiries about protecting a brand/trademark in Africa under one application. Unfortunately, there is no bulk or single trademark registration that will cover the…

The .africa domain name is now available to the public. Any person or party can go ahead and register the .africa domain name on a first come – first serve basis. Companies such as Coca-Cola and Apple have already registered…

Who would of thought that an Easter egg or the Easter bunny could cause such issues? There have been many trade mark infringement and passing-off cases involving these sweet chocolate delights we love to indulge in over the Easter weekend….

I act on behalf of a number of Chefs and restaurants and a common question I often receive is whether they can protect a recipe or food product?   Firstly, I always recommend that they brand or name the new…