DMR Attorneys

08/03/2023

Important notice to customers

Scheduled system maintenance on all CIPC systems from 10 March 2023 – 13 March 2023

28/09/2022

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐒 - DO A TRADE MARK AVAILABILITY SEARCH BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

Do you have an exciting new business idea but don’t know where to start? Here are some helpful tips to start your new business venture off on the right [legal] foot!

Conducting a 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 is an important first step in any trade mark registration or brand launch strategy, as it enables companies to avoid adopting brands that infringe third-party trade mark rights. A trade mark availability search will typically involve establishing whether there are any exact matches or confusingly similar trade marks already registered on the Trade Marks Register, checking the Companies Register for any identical or similar companies already registered, and checking any marketplace use of the proposed new brand/name. It is then recommended, what to file/use as well as in which trade mark classes to file in, based on the findings.

Doing the above step first will save you a lot of time, money, and effort because the last thing you want to do is spend money on branding just to later find out that there is a similar brand that already exists and you have to change EVERYTHING. This could lead to a big setback for your company both legally and financially, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 you’d also have to restart your branding from scratch.

More often than not, business owners do not attend to a trade mark availability search before they register their company name at the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). Most business owners then make the mistake of assuming that because their trade or company name has been approved and registered by the CIPC, they have acquired statutory protection over it. However, it is only once a trade name has been registered as a trade mark that exclusive rights in the name are acquired. The Companies Register and the Trade Marks Register are wholly separate, for this reason, the Commissioner of Companies does not run a cross-check with the Trade Marks Register when examining whether or not a proposed name is acceptable to be registered.

For these reasons, it is highly advisable to conduct a trade mark availability search before launching your brand or even registering a new company name to avoid trade mark infringement as well as contravening the Companies Act.

For more information and assistance in helping you register your business needs contact an attorney at DMR Attorneys at [email protected] or give us a call at 012 072 0469.

18/07/2022

23/06/2022

It's official: Face masks are gone.

📖 Read more here:
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/face-mask-gathering-and-border-covid-19-regulations-have-been-repealed-2022-6

04/04/2022

BREAKING | "The National State of Disaster will be terminated at midnight.
All regulations and directions made in terms of the Disaster Management Act following the declaration of the national state of disaster in response to COVID-19 are repealed with effect from midnight tonight, with the exception of a few transitional measures.
Accordingly certain transitional provisions will remain in place for a period of 30 days after the termination of the National State of Disaster to ensure essential public health precautions and other necessary services are not interrupted."

12/01/2022

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹?

- When a person dies without a will, their belongings will be distributed according to The Intestate Succession Act;

- The Act makes provision for a person’s belongings to be distributed to his/her closest family in a specific order. For example:

𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚 1:

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝐹𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎 𝑏𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒.

𝐼𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝐹𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑖𝑛ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑒’𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑐𝑡.

𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚 2:

𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑓 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎?

​​​​​​​𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑐𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑅250 000.00 𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑’𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒, 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡. 𝐴 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑’𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒.

𝐼𝑓 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑒’𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑅300 000.00, 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑’𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑅100 000.00. 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑦, 𝐹𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑅250 000.00 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑅25 000.00 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ.
Contact us at [email protected] to talk about your estate planning.

📷 Melinda Gimpel

06/12/2021

PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT DEADLINE FOR COMPANIES 31 DECEMBER 2021
In terms of the Notice[1] published on 30 June 2021, certain companies were given an exemption from having to compile a PAIA Manual as required by Section 51 (1) of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (the Act).
The exemption was granted for a period of 6 months calculated from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2021. As of 1 January 2022, all “private bodies” are required to have a PAIA Manual setting out a prescribed list of information to the public.
A “private body” is defined in the Act as to mean:
1) a natural person who carries or has carried on any trade, business or profession, but only in such capacity;
2) a partnership which carries or has carried on any trade, business or profession;
3) any former or existing juristic person; or
4) a political party.
The purpose of the PAIA Manual is to provide a process and explain to members of the public how they may get access to certain of the records held by a private body.
One of the requirements of the Act, is that once the PAIA Manual has been completed, it should be placed on the private bodies website or available for inspection at the premises of the private body.
In terms of penalties for failing to comply with the Act, Section 90 (3) stipulates that:
“90(3) A head of a private body who willfully or in a grossly negligent manner fails to comply with the provisions of section 51 commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine, or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years.”
Please contact DMR should you require any further information on the Act or require us to assist with the compiling of your PAIA Manual.

23/09/2021

We are super proud to announce that our article clerk Ms. Botlhale Kganakga has been admitted in the High Court.

We are excited to welcome her as an attorney in our firm.

22/09/2021

Been a while ago, but still interesting.

According to court filings, Zoom alleges RingCentral is still advertising a video product is powered by Zoom even as company transitions customers to Zoom-free product.

22/03/2021

Wishing all our amazing clients a blessed Human Rights Day.