Region: Africa & Middle East

Israel is getting ready to join the Madrid Protocol by making every effort to launch a computerized system that will allow the Israel Trademarks Office to deal with international applications. Also, the government adopted last August a law bringing the national trademark law in conformity with the provisions of the protocol.

19 February 2004

The South African Revenue Service has tightened up its procedures and operations relating to the seizure of counterfeit goods entering the country. The new policy means that containers will only be stopped in instances where an intellectual property right owner has applied to SARS requesting that it detain and seize suspected counterfeit goods.

27 January 2004

The Review Panel overseeing the Board of Grievances issued in the autumn a landmark decision removing the prohibition against the registration of living creatures as trademarks. The decision is in line with the requirements for Saudi Arabia's accession to the World Trade Organization and the TRIPs Agreement.

26 January 2004

The District Court for Tel-Aviv-Jaffa has rejected Horim V'yiladim Publishers Ltd's contention that Tsa'ad Rishon Company Ltd's registration of the domain name 'horim.co.il' ('<i>horim</i>' meaning 'parents') infringed its trademark rights in its magazine title <i>Horim V'yiladim</i> (meaning 'parents and children').

20 January 2004

In <i>Israeli Bar Association v Ben-David</i>, the Tel Aviv District Court has issued an order preventing two separate defendants from using the word '<i>Hapraklit</i>' (meaning 'lawyer') in their domain names. The court held that although the domain names were registered prior to the plaintiff's application to register the mark HAPRAKLIT, it had rights in the mark as a result of extensive use.

01 December 2003

In <i>Katan v Yariv</i>, the Jerusalem District Court has refused the plaintiff's application for an injunction preventing the defendant from using the term 'Jerusalem-Mall' in her domain name and on her website. The court held that the plaintiff - the owner of the domain name 'jerusalem-mall.co.il' - had failed to establish that the mark JERUSALEM-MALL was a well-known mark, deserving protection.

25 November 2003

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has refused to determine the substantive appeal of <i>Ayman Enterprises Limited v Akuma</i> on the grounds that the Federal High Court had lacked jurisdiction at first instance. The Supreme Court held that Section 3 of the Trademarks Act limits passing off claims to the State High Courts.

19 November 2003

In <i>British American Tobacco Company Ltd v Philip Morris Products Inc</i>, the deputy registrar of trademarks has upheld the plaintiff's request that the defendant disclaim the term 'multifilter' in its application for registration of MULTIFILTER, 100'S PHILIP MORRIS. The deputy registrar held that the term was descriptive and that the defendant had failed to prove secondary meaning.

18 November 2003

In <i>Wissotzky Tea (Israel) Ltd v Arava Cosmetics Ltd</i>, a district court has issued an injunction against the defendant restraining it from using packaging for its tea products that was confusingly similar to the plaintiff's. The court noted that, among other things, the defendant's decision to change its original packaging design to one similar to the plaintiff's was evidence of passing off.

04 November 2003

The Trademarks (International Registration) Rules 2003 have come into force, making Kenya's participation in the Madrid international trademark registration system effective. The Trademarks (Amendments) Rules, which drastically reduce extension periods in opposition proceedings, came into force at the same time.

29 October 2003