Keeping things fair in the business race
The purpose of the Competition Act 89 of 1998(“the Act”) is to promote the efficiency, adaptability, and development of the economy, and to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises have equitable opportunities. Certain practices, including restrictive horizontal practices, restrictive vertical practices, and abuse of dominance, are prohibited in terms of the Competition Act. The Competition […]
Trade marks: To register or not to register
We’ve all seen those little subscripted trade mark symbols, the tiny ® and ™, next to the brand names and logos we’ve come to welcome into our daily lives. But why are there two symbols where a single one could work? The answer is a lot simpler than you may think. Creating something unique takes […]
Who takes the fall for spillage incidents in shopping centres?
This question of liability amid spillage cases has never been fully settled in our law until recently when the case of Holtzhausen v Cenprop Real Estate (Pty) Ltd and Another [2021] 2 All SA 457 (WCC) created some doubts on the legal position of an owner or manager of a shopping mall in “spillage cases”. […]
Legal remedy for contractors to enforce payment
In many instances, contractors put in all the work and comply with the terms of the agreement; however, they receive less or no payment. In the event that the contractor has performed in terms of the contract, but refused payment, there are legal grounds available to the contractors to pursue legal action and recover payment […]
Train your staff to protect against cyberattacks
Since the POPI Act was introduced, many businesses have taken the time and effort to implement a POPI strategy that complies with the Act’s basic requirements. But for many businesses this will not be enough to stave off run-ins with the Information Regulator because they neglect one important strategy in POPI readiness: their staff. Digital security should be a […]
Passing off: When your business’s reputation is threatened
Passing off is a delictual remedy that is derived from English law and has been implemented in South African law. The most authoritative definition of passing off was given in the Capital Estate and General Agencies (Pty) Limited v Holiday Inns Inc. case (“the Holiday Inns case”) as when a person represents his business or merchandise as the business or merchandise of another person. An example of passing off is depicted in the Holiday Inns […]
Retention of title/ownership of movable goods purchased on credit
Take scenario one, in which a purchaser pays the purchase price of a good in a one lump sum. In this case, they are entitled to take delivery of the goods, and ownership will be transferred from the seller to the purchaser. Here, the rights, title and interest of the property is passed from the seller to the purchaser, which would be the ideal scenario for both parties. But what if the purchaser cannot […]
Think Twice Before Using an Image from Google
In February 2018, Google made a distinctive change to their image search engine. Where previously you were able to open an image file directly from a search result, that option was removed. Naturally, this frustrated a lot of users as there was now an additional step to saving images found through the engine. Google wasn’t […]
Your Business’s Rapid-Response Guide to Fake News
In the digital age, information is everywhere. At the click of a button a message can travel across oceans in the time it takes to blink. For the large part, it’s an incredible testament to human invention. But for some part, as with the spread of destructive fake news, it reveals our ugly side. In […]
Fight-or-flight: The cautionary tale of South African Airways
Since the start of the nation-wide lockdown, we have seen how all kinds of businesses have been struggling. Many businesses in the tourism and entertainment industries have been left in ruin while others keep hanging on by the skin of their teeth. It seems that we are still a long way off from “back to […]