Intellectual Property: Intellectual property is a general term which includes all products of the human intellect (“IP”). IP can take different forms such as copyright, trade marks, patents, plant breeders’ rights and designs. IP is in turn protected by the common law...

Background: Subpoena duces tecum is a Latin term which means “you shall bring with you” and is a mechanism catered for in terms of South African common law. The South African rules of court allow a party to litigation proceedings to compel a witness to produce any...

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (“DTIC”) recently held a briefing on the Draft Companies Amendment bill 2021 (“Bill”), which follows the Draft Companies Amendment Bill of 2018. The Bill proposes various amendments to the Companies Act No. 71 of 2008...

VDMA previously reported on the Cybercrimes Act No. 19 of 2020 (“Cybercrimes Act”) on 22 June 2021 which at that stage, was to come into effect on a date to be proclaimed in the Government Gazette.  In broad terms, the Cybercrimes Act aims to align South Africa’s...

Proper investment portfolio management plays a significant role in modern day wealth creation. Investors are often confronted with decisions regarding the most appropriate investment opportunity suited to their investment needs, taking into account both risk and...

On 7 September 2021, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (the “Department”) released a media statement informing the public about the challenges it was experiencing with its information technology (“IT”) systems. The media statement provided that...

Background: It is a general rule that companies have their own legal personality and are thus required to litigate in their own name to protect their own legal interests. There is however an exception to this rule in the form of derivative action which can be utilised...

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc in the South African economy with several industries feeling the negative impact which it has brought with it.  One such negative impact is the economic decline threats which have the potential to create panic for job...

On 16 September 2021, a collective consisting of investors, incubators, accelerators and founders, representing the South African entrepreneurship ecosystem, revealed their plans and latest findings towards the creation of the proposed South African Startup Act (the...

Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is a highly controversial topic which is the subject of many conversations worldwide. One such example of AI which has recently become the topic of conversation is the Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience...

The controversial topic of mandatory vaccination policies has increasingly become a topic of conversation in recent weeks.  As the national vaccine rollout gathers momentum, more businesses are starting to employ mandatory vaccine policies for their employees. This...