Legal updates and opinions
News / News
Adidas and the stripes
By: Donvay Wegierski, Director
In 2015, Adidas successfully opposed the registration of two EU marks comprising two stripes belonging to Shoe Branding Europe marks on the basis of its three stripe registrations. On appeal, the EU General court has confirmed this position finding it likely that the use of the two-stripe mark will take unfair advantage of the three-stripe registration. This decision may deter the adoption of two stripe variations by others in the EU while Adidas continues to defend its three stripe registrations.
This may differ from the situation in South Africa, in that the Supreme Court of Appeal has found previously that two stripes on shoes had not constituted trade mark infringement or passing off, when the particular shoe was considered.
Latest News
The Competition Commission’s Revised Final Public Interest Guidelines: A Critical Framework for Merger Analysis
and Chiara Ferri - Candidate Attorney Introduction The South African Competition Commission ("Commission") has published its final revised Public Interest [...]
Constitutional Court considers evictions in the inner-city of Cape Town
On 27 February 2024, the Constitutional Court heard oral arguments in the matter of Charnell Commando and Others v City [...]
Newsflash: The Competition Authority of Kenya clarifies the position on Administrative Remedies and Settlement.
and Lwazi-Lwandile Simelane - Candidate Attorney On 21 March 2024, the Competition Authority of Kenya ("the CAK") announced that it [...]
Large fines show FSCA is focused on enforcement to leave the grey list – a red flag for non-compliant financial services providers as more fines likely
Gone are the days of box-ticking. The FSCA has imposed penalties on financial services providers for non-compliance with FICA The [...]
Considerations of a surety relying on the remedies provided in the Insolvency Act
CASE NOTE Introduction On 9 February 2024, the Supreme Court of Appeal in the case of Cohen v Absa Bank [...]
New Earnings Threshold
and Danelle Plaatjies - Candidate Attorney On 5 March 2024 the Minister of Employment and Labour, Thembelani Waltermade Nxesi, published [...]
