A portmanteau of the words “Britain” and “exit,” it is the nickname for a...
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.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property refers to all legislation concerning patents, designs,...
Database Rights
European Union law In European Union law, a database protection is a...
Domain Name Infringement
Trademarks serve to distinguish companies, goods, and services from...
CIPC
Companies and Intellectual Property Commission The Companies and Intellectual...
Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA)
The Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) is a South African Internet...
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) includes dispute resolution processes...
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a multilateral agreement...
The 1st game Inventor to become a Millionaire
Monopoly, the world's best selling board game, has a trail of controversy...
Apple v. Samsung
In January 2007 just before the iPhone was introduced, Apple patented 4...
Chinese Domain Name Scam
The Chinese Domain Name Scam is an e-mail that is sent from a Chinese company...
Mickey Mouse vs Deadmau5
Canadian music producer and performer Joel Zimmerman is better known by his...
The Hula Hoop Invention
The hula hoop is a large toy ring that is twirled around the waist, limbs or...
Chobani Greek Yoghurt’s lawsuit Tweet
Chobani Greek Yoghurt's recent tweet caused a copyright infringement lawsuit...
How far will Roller Coaster inventions go?
Roller Coaster Inventions The centerpiece of Pantopia™, Falcon’s Fury™ is the...
Oracle Corp vs Google Inc
Oracle Corp won the lawsuit against Google Inc for using the Java programming...
The #Hashtag Idea
The word hashtag is an unspaced phrase prefixed with the # symbol. The...
Easter Fun Facts
Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday that falls after the full moon...
Associate appointed at Smit & Van Wyk
Chantal Hoffelner, registered Patent Attorney who initially graduated...
INTA Conference 2014, Hong Kong
The International Trademark Association (INTA) annual conference is the...
FICPI 2015
FICPI 2015 will be hosted in Cape Town, South Africa from 13 to 17 April 2015....
Novelty
Novelty is obtained from the Latin word novus which means New. Novelty is the...
Connecting New Dots: Domain Names
If you would like to register a website for your brand at .africa, .capetown,...
Smit & Van Wyk to reach New Heights!
Wessel van Wyk from Smit & Van Wyk, Inc. is leaving on Sunday the 21st of...
Passing Off: Marina vs. Buffalo
There was recently a case in the Eastern Cape High Court that demonstrates so...
New Trademark Law – Ethiopia
Owners of Trade Marks that are already registered in Ethiopia will be required...
Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler was a Swiss mathematician and physicist. He worked in...
What is a Patent?
A patent is a form of intellectual property that offers patent owners...
Why Patent your Invention?
Patents protect inventions, how they work, what they do, what they are made of...
Do consumers have the right to resell Music?
ReDigi.com is a website where you can buy pre-owned music from other users or...
Facebook Copyright Hoax
Have you recently seen copyright notices on some of your friends' Facebook...
Apple gets new Patent: Universal Batteries
Apple's patent application for a universal battery system has been approved....
Southern African Young Scientists Summer Program (SA-YSSP)
The Minister of Science and Technology officially launched the Southern...
Michael Jackson Copyright Lawsuit
Michael Jackson's estate filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Howard...
UK Olympics 2012 Brand Police
During the 2012 Olympics 300 officials in purple uniforms called the brand...
Facebook Summons
August 2012 Kwazulu-Natal Judge Esther Steyn made legal history in South...
Apple vs Samsung Lawsuit
Case Number:11-01846 Apple vs. Samsung Location:U.S. District Court for the...
Artificial jellyfish made from Rat Heart
An artificial jellyfish called Medusoid was invented by Kit Parker, a...
Hendrik Lorentz
Hendrik Lorentz was born on 18 July 1853 in the Arnhem region of the...
The Friday the 13th Franchise
Friday the 13th HistorySeveral theories exist about the origin of...
What Is Physical Phenomena?
Phenomena is a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen,...
The God Particle
The God Particle (Higgs boson) Physicists working at the the world’s most...
The Ferrari Trademark explained
Enzo Anselmo Ferrari was born on 18 February 1898 in Modena, Italy and was an...
South African girl wins International Science Expo
South African girl wins International Science Expo Chené Mostert from...
Paris Convention
The Paris Convention is an international agreement which helps creators ensure...
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 novel written by Dan Brown. The title of the novel...
America Invents Act
The new America Invents Act was signed into law by President Obama in...
Apple wins Samsung battle in German Court
Apple is officially the only company that can make and sell minimalist...
Attorneys in South Africa
Attorneys in South Africa specialising in areas of intellectual property...
Intellectual Property Law Firm
Smit & Van Wyk, Inc. is an intellectual property law firm that is situated...
Robert Kiyosaki
Robert Toru Kiyosaki was born on April 8, 1947 and has one sister, Emi...
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs or Steve Jobs was born on 24 February 1955 in San Francisco,...
Velociraptor
Velociraptor was established in 2007 and provides protection with the use of...
Shaka kaSenzangakhona Zulu
Shaka kaSenzangakhona Zulu (Shaka Zulu) was born to a high-ranking chieftain...
YouTube
YouTube is a website that was created for sharing videos over the internet. In...
Fake Apple Stores in China
A total of 22 fake Apple stores have been uncovered in Kunming, Chinain 2011....
Entrepreneur James Clark
James H. Clark (Jim Clark) Clark was born in Plainview, Texas and dropped out...
Boondoggles
Boondoggle is a either a project that is considered a waste time and money or...
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian engineer, inventor, anatomist,...
Top 5 Accidental Inventions
All kinds of famous and revolutionary products that were invented by accident....