South Africa: Arbitration & Dispute Resolution

A critical analysis of the South African High Court's decision in Soft Coffee v Nonnas Pasta reveals a judgment that correctly applied the notional use doctrine and dismissed an improperly pleaded prior use defence, yet failed to distinguish between different forms of trade mark infringement. The court's conflation of sections 34(1)(a) and (b) resulted in an overbroad interdict that extends beyond what the legal reasoning can support, particularly regarding the respondent's company name versus product brand

South African courts may allow multiple companies to be liquidated in one application, but separate grounds and evidence must be established for each company.

The success of an IT project relies not only on technical execution but equally on clearly defined responsibilities.