Original news and analysis on international IP policy
South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) appears to be meeting its detractors halfway with a new intellectual property consultative framework it says will help pave the way for consultative engagement with IP stakeholders both inside and outside of government.
The new Anton Mostert Chair of Intellectual Property Law at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, Professor Sadulla Karjiker, has pointed a finger at the country’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for being “unresponsive” to stakeholders offering their input into proposed IP legislation.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Small growers of Rooibos tea, in a remote region of South Africa, have taken up the charge in pursuing a geographic indication certification to protect their unique red tea against misuse and imitation. Intellectual Property Watch brings you the local story.
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- Stakeholders from various positions of influence in the realm of intellectual property - including government - put a fine tooth comb through the South African Copyright Amendment Bill at a consultative conference called by the Department of Trade and Industry yesterday.
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – A conference here this week elicited a robust debate amongst intellectual property stakeholders in South Africa about the objectives of the far-reaching draft Copyright Amendment Bill.
The publication for public comment of the much-anticipated South African draft Copyright Amendment Bill has cautiously been welcomed by some stakeholders, who believe that parts of the draft are unworkable.
South Africa’s new indigenous knowledge systems legislation is being cautiously welcomed by commentators, expressing both hopes and concerns. And some are tying it to other intellectual property legislation in the country.
CAPE TOWN - A growing patent examination workload and increasing global anti-IP sentiment are some of the challenges the European Patent Office faces, according to EPO President Benoit Battistelli.
CAPE TOWN - Pharmaceutical patents and access to medicines was the focus of an animated panel discussion by experts offering divergent views on the topic at intellectual property group FICPI’s 2015 World Congress, currently underway in Cape Town, South Africa.
Intellectual property pundits have welcomed South African President Jacob Zuma’s decision to retain Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies in the position following South Africa’s May general elections. And Davies in an interview this week signalled that completing the national intellectual property policy may be a top priority.
South Africa’s upcoming general elections on 7 May have thrown a spanner in the works of the much-anticipated national draft intellectual property policy from coming into effect anytime soon.
An innovative South African start-up is offering local university students a way around buying cheap pirated books with a legal print-on-demand service that slashes the price of expensive academic textbooks.