[Donvay Wegierski] Presently the Chinese trademark system has a reputation for being slow, expensive and complex. It is therefore anticipated that the third amendment to the trademark law of the People's Republic of China, which introduces significant changes, effective 1 May 2014, will be welcomed.
[Neil Kirby] Understanding consumer rights is becoming an integral part of conducting business in South Africa. With an increased emphasis on potential harm to consumers by goods and services, suppliers around the world must become conscious of their obligations in law in various jurisdictions including South Africa.
[Graeme Palmer] The Income Tax Act, 1962 was recently amended to provide for a new withholding tax on cross-border service fees. According to the new law, a withholding tax of 15% must be levied on the amount of any service fee that is paid by any person to or for the benefit of any foreign person to the extent that the amount is regarded as having been received by or accrued to the foreign person from a source within South Africa.
[Jacques van Wyk] The Supreme Court of Appeal, in rejecting the decision of the Labour Appeal Court, found that the employee in this case had been unfairly discriminated against by being denied an opportunity for promotion where no other suitable candidate, aside from herself, was present for the position.
[Christophe van Zyl] After a four-year battle with its competitor Nestle, the UK Appeals Court has refused the registration of Cadbury's trademark application for the specific colour purple that Cadbury has used for over 150 years in relation to its chocolate wrapping.
[Lize Mills] As of 6 December this year you will no longer see a nurturing mother feeding her happy baby a bottle of formula milk as an advertisement in any newspaper, magazine, on a website or on television.
[Yaniv Kleitman] Bank guarantees feature regularly, and are very often perceived as 'standard' or 'template' documents in respect of which little if any negotiation is encountered insofar as legal drafting is concerned.
[Anli Dowling] As the pace of development into the rest of Africa gains momentum, more and more South African companies are considering expanding their businesses into the rest of the continent. There are several legal issues to consider - and some pitfalls to beware of.
[Deshni Naidoo] The Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, No 3 of 2000 (PAJA) makes it clear that administrative action entails a decision, or a failure to make a decision, by an administrator which has a direct, external legal effect on a party.
[Eric Levenstein] A new Companies Act became operative in our law on 1 May 2011. This Act introduced some novel provisions into our law - among them business rescue.
[Jody Doyle] Good communication is the basis of any good relationship - we all know that. But honesty can be awkward, and so most people avoid difficult conversations, often in the name of politeness.
[Dr Madelein Kleyn] The Draft National Policy on Intellectual Property (DNPIP) of South Africa was published on 4 September 2013 for public comments.
[Janine Hollesen] Social media platforms were aflutter recently following allegations by a Cape Town artist that Woolworths reproduced her design of a hummingbird without her consent.
[Jacques van Wyk] Employees are often employed in terms of fixed-term contracts for the purpose of completing a specific project. If the project consists of multiple phases and employees are required to complete a specific phase rather than the entire project then this should be made clear in their contracts of employment.
[Jacques van Wyk] An employer who is faced with an employee who is under the influence of alcohol in the workplace may, in the absence of satisfactory evidence, proceed by way of a disciplinary hearing for misconduct.
[Alastair Morphet] Mr Shuttleworth famously sold his shares in Thawte, which earned him a substantial amount of money. He subsequently decided to emigrate from the Republic and to transfer all of his remaining assets out of the country.
[Professor Willie van der Westhuizen] The alarming answer is most probably not, because legal audits have shown that more than ninety percent (90%) of trust deeds (and/or amendments to trust deeds) in South Africa may not stand the test of validity if tested in a court of law.
[Nicholas Preston] As a general rule, litigants are entitled to legal representation at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) arbitrations unless the issue relates to an alleged unfair dismissal and that the reason for the dismissal relates to the employees alleged misconduct or incapacity.
[Lucinde Rhoodie] It has now been two years since the Consumer Protection Act, No. 68 of 2008, ("the CPA") has come into force and still the impact thereof has not fully been appreciated by franchisors.
[Bongani Mgaga] The Labour Relations Act allows legal representation at CCMA. However, the CCMA rules limit such representation in cases of dismissal for misconduct or incapacity.
