Africa: Intellectual Property

A South African court has delivered a decisive ruling on the limits of post-employment competition, finding that two senior employees unlawfully used their former employer's proprietary software, client relationships, and confidential information to launch a competing business. The judgment reinforces that fiduciary duties can extend beyond employment termination and that building a business on a former employer's investment constitutes unlawful springboarding rather than legitimate entrepreneurship.

China's elimination of tariffs on Nigerian imports presents unprecedented market access to 1.4 billion consumers, but Nigerian exporters face critical intellectual property vulnerabilities...

From the Industrial Property Code of 2007 to the new comprehensive reforms of 2025, Cape Verde’s legal system has undergone a dramatic transformation that goes beyond incremental adjustments. Lawmakers pursued a broader reform that reflects the country’s changing economy and its deeper integration into the global IP landscape.

The case of Proline Soccer Academy Limited v MTN Uganda Limited, M/s CQ Saatchi & Saatchi & FUFA (U) Limited arose from a series of contractual arrangements relating to the commercial exploitation...

A South African High Court ruling has revoked 16 registered designs for arched deck boards, finding that pre-registration commercial disclosures destroyed their novelty.

The digital revolution has transformed the global film and creative industry by changing the way films and audiovisual content are produced, distributed, and consumed. Streaming platforms, social media applications, and digital marketplaces now allow creators to distribute content instantly to audiences across the world.

When does a drag persona's parody of a famous outdoor brand cross the line from protected expression into trademark infringement? The dispute between environmental activist Pattie Gonia and apparel giant Patagonia raises fundamental questions about identity, commerce, and the evolving boundaries of parody in modern trademark law.

On Monday, June 1, 2026, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) hosted a high-level stakeholders meeting and Fireside Chat titled “Accelerating Nigeria’s Innovation System” in Abuja, Nigeria. The event was co-curated by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and WIPO, as part of the official visit of the WIPO Director-General, Mr. Daren Tang, to the WIPO Nigeria Office.

The Fair Competition Commission in Tanzania has issued a significant clarification regarding trade mark recordal applications, establishing that only Tanzanian national registrations will be accepted as valid basis for recordals.

On Monday, June 1, 2026, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) hosted a high-level stakeholders meeting and Fireside Chat titled “Accelerating Nigeria’s Innovation System” in Abuja, Nigeria. The event was co-curated by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and WIPO, as part of the official visit of the WIPO Director-General, Mr. Daren Tang, to the WIPO Nigeria Office.

Zambia has published new regulations under The Patents Act, 2016, introducing procedural and administrative updates that modernise the country's intellectual property framework. These regulations provide greater clarity on filing requirements, timelines, and formalities, replacing the previous practice of reading the 2016 Act alongside regulations from the former Act.

We currently live in an era where the most valuable assets of a corporation may never be seen, touched, or physically inspected. Patents governing life-saving pharmaceutical compounds, trademarks representing decades of consumer trust, software architectures powering digital economies, and trade secrets encoding proprietary processes have displaced machinery, land, and buildings as the primary reservoirs of corporate wealth.