News and Commentary
Book Review: The New Derivative Action under the Companies Act by Maleka Cassim
Reviewed by Louis Rood. What is a derivative action? A company is a juristic person capable of suing and being sued in its own name. Consequently, when a wrong is done to a company, the action is...
No Luck for Lucky Star at the SCA
Last year the Western Cape High Court heard a matter between Lucky Star and Lucky Fish whereby Lucky Star, who used its registered trademark in respect of canned fish goods, alleged that Lucky Fish...
The sting of the “Green Scorpions” in tackling environmental crime
The National Environmental Management Act seeks to protect the Constitutional right to an environment that is not harmful to one's health or wellbeing. The Act recognises that everyone has the right...
Just over 1 week remains for the submission of applications and nominations for the Office of the Public Protector
At 16h00 on 24 June 2016, the opportunity to submit nominations for the next Public Protector closes. Those eligible include attorneys, advocates, judges, and those with relevant knowledge and...
New credit provider registration threshold set at nil as from 11 November 2016
Under the National Credit Act, credit providers that have a total principal debt owed to them exceeding R 500 000.00, under all outstanding credit agreements (other than incidental credit...
Adwords battle comes to an end
The Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed security fencing company Cochrane Steel's appeal to overturn the high court judgment on South Africa's first Google Adwords case last week confirming that the...
Protecting yourself from that pesky online harasser
In today's digital age, experiencing online harassment and cyberbullying is as common as catching a cold during winter. The Protection Against Harassment Act provides recourse to individuals who...
Cartel conduct now a criminal activity
The South African Minister of Economic Development, Ebrahim Patel, announced last month that any cartel conduct, including price fixing, market allocation and collusive tendering, now constitutes...
Draft International Arbitration Bill Published – could South Africa become the venue for international arbitrations?
On 28 April 2016, the Government Gazette published the draft International Arbitration Bill and its explanatory memorandum. The Bill is due to be introduced to Parliament and if it becomes an Act,...
Contract: Court confirms that silence where there is a duty to disclose may amount to misrepresentation
The Supreme Court of Appeal recently handed dealt with the requirement to disclose material and relevant facts when entering into a contract, and expanded upon the notion that silence may - in...
SCA rules that courts have a discretion to order the demolition of unauthorised/illegal building works on application by a neighbour
BSB International Link CC owned property in Parkmore, Gauteng and its neighbour, Readam South Africa (Pty) Ltd, had a problem with the building works that BSB had undertaken. Readam argued that BSB...
Is this transaction protected under Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008?
Often a question posed as the weary consumer, but are you getting the right answer? Today’s scenario: You wish to enter into an Installment Sale Agreement to purchase a new car. The seller and/or...
The compensation ordered for the developer of ‘please call me’ a reminder to companies to regulate internal intellectual property policies
The Constitutional Court recently handed down judgment in the case concerning the compensation for the use of the idea of developing the Please Call Me messaging system for Vodacom, which resulted...
Enforcing a South African maintenance order in a foreign country
The Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Act allows a parent living in South Africa to claim maintenance from a parent living in a foreign country and vice versa. South Africa, however, only...
Environmental licenses and permits now automatically available to the public
The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) has recently made environmental licenses automatically available to the public. Unlike the previous position, licenses will now become available without...
Copyright Infringement Judgment – Moneyweb v Fin24
Judgment was recently granted out of the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) in favour of Moneyweb against Fin24 for copyright infringement. The court found that three of the seven articles published...
Book Review: Law of Property Casebook for Students (Eighth Edition) By AJ van der Walt
Reviewed by Louis Rood. If legislation is the recipe of law, then court cases are the ingredients. It is the judgments of our courts that both interpret and apply the law, evaluate the evidence,...
Lessor permitted to evict lessee upon valid termination of the lease despite lessor’s lack of title
In a recent case involving Engen, the Constitutional Court (CC) has found that a subtenant is not allowed to raise a sub-lessor's lack of title as a defence to eviction. In this matter, Engen...
ARIPO Developments
There are currently 19 States which are party to the Lusaka Agreement and therefore members of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO). These are: Botswana, The Gambia,...
The constitutional right to emergency medical treatment
Last year, the Constitutional Court (CC) highlighted the importance of the constitutional right to emergency medical treatment. The case involved a 17 year old boy who had experienced serious spinal...
FWB Associate, Brittany Badham-Thornhill, provides some wisdom on wills on personal finance and insurance website Hippo.co.za
Brittany Badham-Thornhill recently contributed to an article entitled "Write a Will and Protect Your Legacy" on personal finance and insurance website, Hippo.co.za. Here are some excerpts from the...
Fairbridges Wertheim Becker: Terralex’s exclusive South African Member Firm
TerraLex is one of the world’s leading international legal networks. With more than 155 top independent law firms and more than 17,000 attorneys in 100 countries, TerraLex members provide the legal...
SARS Tax Clearance Certificates
A new tax clearance system is to be rolled out by SARS. This new system is said to improve efficiency and assist both the taxpayer and third parties to check the compliance status of the taxpayer....
The battle between Apple and Samsung continues
Apple initially claimed that Samsung had infringed eight of its software patents (for example, the 'slide-to-unlock' feature) and claimed US$2.2 billion in damages. Apple was awarded US$120 million...