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Wheels in motion – the public passenger transport market inquiry
INTRODUCTION The Competition Commission ("Commission") has launched yet another market inquiry. In this instance, the focus is on the public passenger transport market. The Commission [...]
Telecommunication, economic growth and regulatory intervention
INTRODUCTION On 24 May 2017, Dr. Siyabonga Cwele, the Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services delivered his department's 32nd budget vote to Parliament. During his [...]
The importance of trade mark and domain name registration
The launch of the .Africa domain name is currently underway as referred to in the last two editions of our newsletter, LegalWerks. All domain name applications [...]
The implementation of the BEPS multilateral instrument in South Africa
INTRODUCTION The implementation of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Multilateral Instrument in South Africa is progressing. On 5 October 2015, the OECD released [...]
Employment Equity Act compliance
There has been a recent increase in the number of employment equity audits conducted by the Department of Labour on designated employers. The reason for this [...]
Application for registration of a bargaining council: private security sector
On 13 April 2017 ("Notice Date") the Department of Labour gave notice in the government gazette of receipt of an application for registration of a bargaining [...]
Sexual harassment: employers beware
ISSUE(S) In what circumstances an employer may be held liable for sexual harassment committed by one of its employees in terms of the Employment Equity [...]
Employment of foreigners
Recently former Home Affairs Minister, Malusi Gigaba, announced that the Department of Home Affairs will move to punish employers who employ persons with illegal documents or [...]
Motor industry bargaining council: extension to non-parties
On 7 April 2017, the Minister of Labour gave notice that in terms of the relevant provisions of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995, as [...]
Company directorship-declaring directors delinquent when trading a company in insolvent circumstances
In these turbulent economic times, and particularly with overt pressure on the Rand and with the recent downgrade of South Africa to "junk status", directors of [...]
From number plates to school uniforms: beware of exclusive contracts.
From a commercial perspective, it often makes sense for a company to determine its optimal route to market and to enter into exclusionary arrangements with its [...]
Yet another dawn raid – but do you know all the facts?
On 16 March 2017, the Competition Commission ("Commission") issued a press release welcoming the outcome of the proceedings in the High Courts of South Africa, KwaZulu‑Natal [...]
Exchange control relaxations for Intellectual Property transactions
INTRODUCTION In the recent 2017 Budget Review, the National Treasury proposed the relaxation of the exchange control restrictions surrounding certain Intellectual Property ("IP") transactions as [...]
Merger thresholds in Swaziland and Tanzania – absence of a local Nexus?
It is standard practice for competition regulators, empowered by legislation to monitor and evaluate mergers, to set minimum financial or market share thresholds which must be [...]
.africa domain is here
The long awaited .AFRICA domain name extension will be available as of 3 April 2017 and will be managed by ZACR (ZA central registry). This is [...]
The National Minimum Wage: a further update
On 8 February 2017, Cyril Ramaphosa, the Deputy President of South Africa, disclosed preliminary details regarding the implementation of a national minimum wage ("NMW"). This came [...]
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? Most favoured nation clauses from a Competition Law perspective.
Most favoured nation ("MFN") clauses, also known as price parity clauses or most favoured customer clauses, which appear in vertical agreements between suppliers and distributors, generally [...]
Significant changes to government/parastatal procurement regulations promote Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment
New regulations in terms of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act ("PPPFA") have been published and will take effect from 1 April 2017. The regulations replace the [...]
Judging a book by its cover price – apple and the great e-book swindle
INTRODUCTION No one can deny that since Apple launched its first iPod in October 2001, the company has seen enormous growth in product sales, revenue [...]
Are your trade marks filed properly? Key issues to consider in trade mark protection.
We refer to the article in the February 2017 edition of LegalWerks which dealt with the dangers of choosing a descriptive trade mark. In this article [...]
2017/2018 budget proposals – Tax overview
INTRODUCTION While the increase in the maximum marginal rate for individuals to 45% was widely forecast, with trusts being taxable at the same flat rate, [...]
Update: agreement on the National Minimum Wage signed
On 8 February 2017, Fin24 reported that according to the Federation of Unions of South Africa, an agreement had been reached, and signed, between parties at [...]
Fixed term employment and procedural fairness in large scale retrenchments
ISSUE(S) Whether the employees' fixed term contracts had terminated by operation of law having regard to section 196B of the LRA. Whether the employer should [...]
Legislative update
DRAFT CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE ON EQUAL PAY FOR WORK OF EQUAL VALUE The Minister of Labour published the Draft Code of Good Practice on [...]
Truworths vs Ackermans: the importance of carefully selecting a trade mark
Ackermans has recently been successful in a precedent setting trade mark dispute against Truworths which was heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal. The trade mark [...]
