Includes bibliographical references. / Online social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube allow creative works to be more easily copied and distributed. This type of content is generally referred to as user-generated content and its creation has become a major component of our daily routine. As a result, user-generated content has the potential to influence not just the nature of social interactions but methods of doing business. The advent of user-generated content poses new challenges to copyright law, the conventional medium of protecting these creative works. The global reach of the internet and the increasing ease of access thereto make infringement of original material more likely and more frequent. User-generated content is also surrounded by legal uncertainty in the areas of defamation and privacy. It is beyond the scope of this paper to deal in any depth with these issues. This dissertation will focus on the implications of user-generated content within the realm of copyright. Specifically, this paper examines whether South African copyright law, in its present state, adequately protect the rights and interests of content creators on one end and website owners and proprietors on the other. This assessment will be guided, in part, by judicial precedent and legislative policies adopted in other jurisdictions.

The question that underlies this research is whether and to what extent does South Africa’s moves to amend its Patent Act, as outlined in the country’s new Intellectual Property (IP) Policy take advantage of the flexibilities made available through the Agreement on Trade- Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS)? Patents law and access to medicines are two areas which are not new to South African IP law. Since the late 1990s when the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was at its peak, there has been a tensed relationship between IP, through patents, and access to medicines. While proponents for pharmaceutical patents have argued that patents are a necessary stimulant for innovation and development of new medicines, those against pharmaceutical patents have vigorously laid blame on the patent system for birthing monopolies which have led to unaffordable prices for many life-saving drugs. This dissertation examines the patent framework of South Africa and juxtaposes it with the TRIPS Agreement to determine if there is a gap with the regards to the flexibilities available under each, and if so, how much of a gap exists between them. Also, the recommendations made in the IP Policy which was released by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in 2018, are evaluated to ascertain how aligned to the TRIPS flexibilities they will be if they are turned into law by the lawmaker. The Indian patent system is also looked at to see how it went about patent reform and what South Africa can learn from it. Finally, conclusions are drawn and recommendations made, regarding model language which reflects the recommendations in the Policy that the lawmaker may refer to in the amendment process. Patent reform is a difficult task, and with lives hanging in the balance, a crucial one. The process in South Africa has lingered for many years without resolution. This dissertation highlights the need for urgency in the process with the hope that these changes catalyse into a more equitable patent system where the IP scale provides a more balanced eco-system in which both pharmaceutical patent owners and the general public who rely on their medicines can thrive. Although, a daunting task, a bold and proactive approach must be taken to ensure that the balance is reached timeously and efficiently.

Includes bibliographical references. / Protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions of indigenous communities is one of the most contentious and complicated issues on both international and national agendas. The historical development of the protection of intellectual property in the wake of the industrial revolution and its subsequent jurisprudential justification, based on private property rights, pushed TK and the practice based on it, outside the purview of the formal intellectual protection regime. There is substantial evidence that TK has in past decades been used in a range of industries and has accordingly led to new products as well as the development of existing products. Evidence of this can be found in the areas of special foods and beverages, the cosmetic sector, personal care, agriculture, horticulture and pharmaceuticals. Industries sometimes make use of this knowledge to formulate new products, which they do in a slightly different manner so as to market the products as their own. Currently, there are certain products in Namibia that use the traditional terms of products as trademarks. Despite the fact that some of these terms are not registered with the Ministry of Trade and Industries, these owners enjoy common law protection under trademark law. This is especially so for well-known products such as Omaere milk, which is a product of the Namibia Dairies (Pty) Ltd. The term Omaere is used by the OvaHerero and OvaHimba speaking communities of Namibia and Botswana to refer to traditionally processed curdled milk. The Namibian Dairies (Pty) Ltd has been making use of this name for one of their curdled milk products for more than 15 years. During this period the company has done such excessive marketing of the product that this name has come to be regarded as their trademark. Reviewing it from this perspective, one can conclude that no-one else could use this name to refer to their milk products, as it has come to be considered as a product of the Namibia Dairies.

This minor dissertation investigates alternative compulsory licencing (CL) policy approaches for the South African context. The purpose is to support the country's aspirations to reform certain components of its intellectual property (IP) regime, ensuring alignment with the country's development prerogatives. Homing in on technical barriers with the operationalisation of the existing CL mechanism; this paper investigates remedial recommendations to support South Africa's reform efforts. The paper also hopes to gauge whether it is feasible to leverage compulsory licensure as a cost-containment tool to circumvent price dominance in the sale of essential pharmaceutical commodities. The South African Patents Law provides for CL under three grounds. These are dealt with in chapter 2. The abuse of patents rights as a result of excessive pricing is one of these grounds. Yet, attempting to use this provision abuse of patents rights is procedurally and administratively cumbersome. This is notwithstanding the litigation costs. The 2018 national IP Policy aspires to reform the CL policy to ensure that it is a 'workable mechanism'. A comparative analysis of the CL policy landscapes in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Russian Federation will be taken to inform South Africa's discourse. These two countries are strategic because they have either reformed and/ or in the process of renovating their intellectual property rights (IPR) landscapes and both have interesting approaches to the way in which they have reformed their CL mechanisms. The findings of this paper reveal that Russia and China have undertaken extensive IPR reforms over the last three decades. They have both taken different policy approaches in adapting their CL instruments. Russia's CL reform proposals are underway and aim to advance a CL mechanism that can effectively regulate the abuse of patents, especially for essential pharmaceutical commodities. China has installed specific Implementing Measures which offer policy guidance on the applicability CLs. In the case study of China, the Measures imposed are not necessarily advanced as cost-containment tools. Rather they support the country's pharmaceutical agenda. The recommendations in this paper offer interesting insights to the feasibility exercises that will be advanced in South Africa's IPR reform process.

Includes bibliographical references. / A multitude of factors affect the ability of South Africans to access the essential medicines, intellectual property (IP) is one of them. This dissertation considers some of opportunities open to South Africa through international IP flexibilities, which are aimed at safeguarding public health rights against the sometimes access-restricting effects of patent right monopolies. Potential pitfalls are also highlighted, noting strategies for South Africa to avoid the worst of them. The paper begins by giving an overview of the way in which patents affect access to medicines, and contending that the time for making the proposed amendments is now.

This dissertation explores the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) as they relate to publicly financed research and development (R&D) outcomes. Kenya has the opportunity to learn from the experience of the United States of America (US) and South Africa (SA). The US enacted the Bayh-Dole Act (BDA) in 1980 while SA enacted the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act (IPR-PFRD Act) in 2008. The main research question is whether Kenya ought to enact similar legislation. In addition to the main research question, there are six other secondary questions. The first and second research questions are explored in chapter two which discuss the enactment of the BDA and its impacts in the US. The dissertation uses literature to look at the legislative journey of the BDA which upon its enactment created a uniform approach towards the protection of federally funded R&D outcomes. Literature also points to the fact that years later, the BDA still invokes debates across the US and beyond. There is no consensus on the impact of the BDA. Despite the lack of a clear stand point on its exact effect, several countries have emulated the US and still continue to do so. The third and fourth research questions discussed in chapter three adopts a similar approach but focuses on SA, the first African country to emulate the BDA. The IPR-PFRD Act has been operational since 2010. The limited period of its existence means that the literature available is work in progress. Despite that, SA has had some impacts experienced so far across its leading universities in the form of; realignment of IP policies to comply with the provisions of the IPR-PFRD Act as well as discussions among researchers, innovators and the National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO). There is evidence that Universities, industries and NIPMO are trying to implement the spirit as well as the letter of the IPR-PFRD Act. The fifth and sixth questions discussed in chapter four turn to Kenya. The dissertation tries to establish whether there is a demand in Kenya for legislation that regulates publicly financed R&D outcomes. It proposes that the time is not yet ripe for Kenya to have a BDA model, but that Kenya needs to first develop sustainable capacity and infrastructure to support the protection, management and ownership of IP. Chapter five concludes that Kenya can learn invaluable lessons from the US and SA when it considers regulating publicly-financed R&D outcomes.

We live in an economy where intangible assets have become valuable commodities. These intangible assets are created by individuals, or groups who apply their creativity and ingenuity appropriately. The result of such ingenuity and creativity is product that is deemed to be so important that it qualifies for legal protection. Such assets will benefit any individual, business, company or enterprise that has the ownership right or title and the ability to commercially exploit the asset. Therefore, there is an interest in the ownership and control of the assets as well as the manner in which legal entitlement is devised by the law. Where, the asset is an invention that is patentable the law has granted the employer ownership. This thesis considers how the law balances the right it gives to the employer and the compensation it grants the inventive employee. The thesis seeks to ensure that an employee-inventor has been adequately compensated for his ingenuity and for producing the fruits of his creativity.

My minor dissertation in Intellectual Property Law is about Copyright Law and infringement in relation to mobile television, Internet Protocol Television and Internet Television as well as the online services of downloading and streaming. The thesis will contain of five chapters. The first chapter will give an overview of the nature of the problem, the structure and methodology as well as the named media and their technological background. The second chapter will then introduce the relevant technologies, institutions in charge and the general legislation and will serve as background information for the main issues of copyright. Further I will discuss operational licenses, which have to be distinguished from content licenses in the copyright correlation. Chapter three will be the focus of my thesis and will deal with copyright in connection with ITV, IPTV and mobile-TV. It will inter alia portray the issues of infringement, liability, exceptions and limitations in the named context as well as the proposed Copyright Amendment Bill 2015. The fourth chapter will then commence by discussing the German copyright in the relevant aspects of the topic. It will pay special attention to the legal dichotomy of online-streaming. Chapter five will summarise and conclude the relevant findings of the copyright issues. It will further give prospect to the legal dichotomy in South Africa and how to handle it, since there is no applicable local jurisdiction yet. Hence it will go beyond the comparisons by looking ahead for the developing online media and the necessity of law to properly adapt to it.

This thesis is concerned with the doctrine of title by possession and the doctrine of relative title. Many property lawyers believe that these doctrines are elementary, important and interesting. But, while virtually everyone accepts that possession of land or chattels is a source of title and that titles are relative, the doctrines have long been a focus of debate. The nature of possession, the nature of the possessor's title, and the relationships between possession, relative title and ownership have been particularly contentious. Accordingly, this thesis seeks to provide sound answers to the following questions: (1) what, in this context, is possession? (2) What is the nature of the title that is acquired by taking possession of land or chattels? (3) Does English law recognise landownership and chattel-ownership?-and, if it does, is a person who acquires, by virtue of his or her possession, a title to land or chattels the (or an) owner of the land or chattels? It is argued in Chapter 2 that, for the purposes of the doctrine of title by possession, the general rule is that a person is in possession of land or chattels if and only if she has: (i) a sufficient degree of exclusive physical control; and (ii) an intention to possess. Chapters 3-5 are concerned with the second question. It is argued that, upon obtaining possession, a person acquires, in cases involving land, an estate in fee simple absolute in possession and, in cases involving chattels, a general property interest. Chapter 6 is concerned with the third question. It is argued that English law does recognise landownership and chattel-ownership; and that a person who acquires a title by obtaining possession of land or chattels owns the land or chattels if her title is supreme but not if it is inferior.

This thesis argues that the existing laws of competition and human rights can be combined to limit the rights of owners of intellectual property (IP). The need for this thesis arises from concerns about the impact of enforcement of IP rights, say on patients needing essential medicines or students seeking to obtain important material from the internet. Some steps have been taken to address these concerns, with the World Trade Organization Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health and the One Lap Top Per Child project. Yet the owner of a national IP right can still object to a valuable project if it comes within the scope of that IP right, say the supply of providers of emergency services with the only communications technology which will work in extreme conditions in air ambulances. IP law should not be viewed in legal isolation, however, and concerns about the impact of enforcement of IP can also be framed in terms of human rights and competition. This work argues, with a focus on the jurisdictions of the United Kingdom (UK) and on patents, that courts considering patent actions can and must, without the need for any legislative or policy change, combine the UK Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the UK Patents Act 1977 (PA) and article 82 EC Treaty such that in some limited cases there will be no finding of patent infringement. A Human Rights Emphasis is proposed as a means of evaluating what is meant in a particular case by compatible or incompatible with Convention rights in sections 3 and 6 HRA, given that the potentially conflicting rights to property, life and expression could be engaged in a patent action. The Human Rights Emphasis is then applied to the results of a creative yet legitimate approach to interpretation of the infringement provisions of the PA, to determine whether there should be a finding of infringement. It is also argued, combining the Human Rights Emphasis and a broad approach to abuse of a dominant position and its relationship with IP, that it can be a prohibited abuse of a dominant position to raise an infringement action when the technology the subject of the patent is a market in itself. Finally, the arguments of this work are considered to be consistent with the existing obligations of the UK, and other countries, under the ECHR and the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, and as such of potential application outside the UK.