Welcome to Africa’s legal blog

Never miss a beat on Africa's legal and regulatory landscape.

Clyde & Co.

Intellectual property law and copyright infringement in Tanzania

Copyright infringement is the use of copyrighted material without the author’s permission. In mainland Tanzania, copyright infringement is principally governed by the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act.

Read More
Jackson, Etti & Edu

The Impact of Section 43(2) of the Plant Variety Protection Act 2021

The introduction of the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) in Nigeria created intellectual property (IP) right incentives to breeders as well as an access to foreign collaboration. The lack of a regulatory framework protecting IP in new plant varieties had discouraged forei..
Read More
S.P.A. Ajibade & Co.

Is registration of copyright a requirement for proving infringement? A critical analysis of the ruling of the Federal High Court in the case of Paul Allen Oche v. Nigerian Breweries Plc & 3 Ors.

Copyright under the Nigerian Copyright Act,[2] is a legal protection granted to creators or originators of creative works, whether Literary, Musical, Artistic or Cinematographic works or an adaptation of any of these eligible works.[3] Copyright confers an exclusive and a..

Read More
Spoor & Fisher

Are South Africa’s IP laws keeping up with technology innovation?

Constituting a world first in a field that has traditionally been hostile to “artificially intelligent” inventors, South Africa’s patent office granted a patent in July 2021 to an invention created by an AI system.

The invention that received the go-ahead is for a ..

Read More
Kampala Associated Advocates

The Trademarks (Amendment) Regulations, 2021: A step towards achieving the goals of the National IP Policy

In May 2019, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs released the National Intellectual Property Policy (the “Policy”) intended to support efforts towards achieving objectives of Uganda Vision 2040, the Second National Development Plan and the 17 Sustainable De..

Read More
MMAN Advocates

The Collateralisation of Intellectual Property Rights

The Moveable Property Security Rights Act, 2017 provides for the registration of security rights in moveable properties. Prior to 2017, individuals and entities with no tangible assets had difficulty in accessing cr..

Read More
Bowmans

Uganda: High Court issues landmark decision on industrial design infringement

On 28 June 2021 the High Court of Uganda rendered a landmark decision inMigoo Industrial and Trading Company (U) Limited v Rida International Industry (U) Limited (Civil Suit 0359/2019). Plaintiff Migoo had sued defendant Ridafor infringement of its industrial design.

Read More
Spoor & Fisher

Why a Clear Intellectual Property Strategy is Critical to Securing Venture Capital Funding

Intellectual property (IP) is not an end in itself. Nobody ever needed IP to make, market or sell a product or service and, in fact, many businesses compete in the market on the basis of price, service and quality without ever registering or enforcing any intellectu..

Read More
Spoor & Fisher

Kenya: Important Developments Regarding Anti-counterfeiting

Kenya has had anti-counterfeiting legislation for many years. The Anti-Counterfeiting Act No. 13 of 2008 creates severe penalties for counterfeiting, with prison terms of up to 15 years. The legislation also makes provision for a dedicated anti-counterfeiting body, ..

Read More
Subscribe to our newsletter