The Olympic Games are a global celebration of athletic excellence and unity,...
Welcome to the Smit & Van Wyk blog, where you’ll find a wealth of expert insights and practical information on trademarks, patents, and copyright. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, inventor, or creative professional, our articles are here to help you navigate the world of intellectual property with clarity and confidence.
Unlocking the Power of Trademarks
In today's fiercely competitive business landscape, establishing a unique...
5 Reasons Why You Should Patent Your Idea
If you have an idea that you believe could revolutionize an industry or...
Kenya: Commencement of Recordation of IP Rights
The Anti-Counterfeit (Recordation) Regulations and the Anti-Counterfeit...
Patent and Design renewal deadlines in South Africa
Failure to have a thorough understanding of renewal fee deadlines can have...
Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expressions in South Africa
Cricket South Africa recently announced a new apparel and merchandise...
Common Law Tort of Passing Off
A question that inevitably arises is whether unregistered trade marks are...
Patent Acceptance in South Africa
Patent Acceptance in South Africa – Delay vs Expedited South Africa has a...
Franchise Agreements
Franchise Contracts and Licence Agreements How a franchise agreement is setup...
Franchise Attorneys
Legal Representation for Franchisors and Franchisees Franchise...
Nice Classification
The Nice Classification, established by the Nice Agreement, is an...
Patent Cooperation Treaty
Smit & Van Wyk is able to assist with Patent Cooperation Treaty patent...
International Trademark Protection
Your mark should be registered in the countries in which you offer your...
Arbitration as a viable option to resolve IP disputes in South Africa
Intangible assets, such as intellectual property (IP) rights are only as...
OAPI
The OAPI (Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle)...
ARIPO
ARIPO (African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation) is an...
Intellectual Property in Africa: Opportunities for Licensing
With a rapidly growing and evolving market in Africa, foreign Intellectual...
The South African Patent Law favors foreign applicants
When considering filing a patent application in a foreign jurisdiction,...
Southern African Development Community
What is the Southern African Development Community (SADC)? The Southern...
Challenges for Asian Companies in African Markets
Entering the African markets can be intimidating for Asian companies, but with...
African Countries to Invest In
The African continent is a largely untapped market. With 54 countries and an...
Business Development in Africa
Despite the innovation and growth of business development in Africa, a gap...
The Belt and Road Initiative
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a significant infrastructure...
Intellectual Property protection in Africa
Why it is Important for Asian Companies to Protect Intellectual Property in...
What is Cybersquatting?
Cybersquatting may sound like a strange eviction nightmare, but it is a...
Big Data and Data Protection in South Africa
In 1996, Bill Gates wrote an essay entitled “Content is King”, alluding to how...
Patentability of Cannabis Products in South Africa
We take a closer look at the patentability of cannabis products in South...
Foreign IP filings into Africa
According to estimates, Africa’s population will reach 2.4 billion by the year...
Gambia to join the Banjul Protocol
On 3 May 2021, Gambia deposited its instrument of accession to the Banjul...
Banjul Protocol Update 2020
On 15 May 2020, the Government of the Republic of Mozambique deposited its...
Uganda Trade Mark Regulations Amendments
“The Trademarks Act No.17, 2010 was recently amended by the Trademark...
Protecting Innovations, indirectly through AfCFTA
The African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA is a free trade area founded in...
Granting of a compulsory license for pharmaceuticals
In the event that an interested person discovers, through what ever means, a...
Legalisation of Private Use of Cannabis in South Africa
In September 2018, a landmark decision by the Constitutional Court in South...
CIPC File Transfer Notice
Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) File Transfer Notice The...
Privacy rights in South Africa: Data And Cloud
Looking at privacy rights in South Africa with the arrival of the Fourth...
Inventor Assistance Program
The recent COVID-19 pandemic did not only have socio-economic implications but...
Difference between a Domain Name and a Website
A domain name is essentially the address which directs users to a particular...
Non-disclosure Agreement and Loss of IP Rights
A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) can be used to avoid the “gentleman’s...
Startup Businesses, IP Rights
Why startup businesses need to consider registering their IP rights from the...
Domain Names
Domain names, like trade marks, are assets to any business and it is thus...
Nigeria Plant Breeders’ Rights
Nigeria Plant Breeders’ Rights does not currently have a intellectual...
Validation of European patents in Morocco
The system for validating European patents in Morocco introduced under the...
Compulsory Licensing in Egypt
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has created a ministerial committee...
Water Research Commission workshop
On 20 March 2019, Wessel van Wyk was privileged to present at a Water Research...
365 Ubuntu Climbs with the Renaissance Guy
The Renaissance Guy, Andrew Patterson, has a goal of hiking up Table Mountain,...
Congratulations to Jacques and Kim
Smit & Van Wyk would like to congratulations to Jacques and Kim - the...
Know your IP
IP (Intellectual property) is considered an asset for any business....
The Yimi™ personal information system
The Yimi™ personal information system provides secure sharing and...
ANC vs ADeC Logo
Since the African Democratic Change (ADeC) emerged as a new political...
Congratulations to Rogan and Kelsey
Smit & Van Wyk, Inc. proudly celebrate two of our candidate attorneys that...
The Rain Catcher
Presenting our clients’ patented invention, The Rain Catcher, which was...
.africa domain success
Trademark owners have shown great interest in the new .africa geographic Top...
INTA 2017 Barcelona
We are pleased to announce that the Smit & Van Wyk team will be attending...
UPC Announcements
UPC (Unified Patent Court)A single patent court covering 25 countries. January...
Law Society of the Northern Provinces
The Law Society of the Northern Provinces (LSNP) is the statutory body...
Lucasfilm Trademark Lawsuit
The Lucasfilm Trademark Lawsuit against New York Jedi and Lightsaber...
The Samsung Trademark
Samsung Electronics (styled as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational...
The Stapler Invention
A stapler is a device that joins pages by driving a metal staple through the...
gTool PenDriver
gTool is the leading tooling brand committed to innovation in the mobile and...