WalMart merger to set precedent in SA law

Thursday, 20 October 2011 was the first day of hearings by the Competition Appeals Court into the decision by the Competition Tribunal to approve the R16.5 billion merger between giant US retailer WalMart and Massmart. WalMart now owns 51% of Massmart. Read more >>

Consult a lawyer before patenting - Adams & Adams

"Like any invention that is capable of being subject to patent protection, a new perfume, cosmetic or cold drink for example must not only be new in its own right - never have been done before anywhere in the world - but must also be inventive. It cannot simply constitute a mixture of ingredients that are commonly used in the trade unless that very mixture is something startling. This is just one hurdle all inventors face," says Alexis Apostolidis, partner at law firm Adams & Adams. Read more >>

Dismissing foreign employees

[Michael Yeates and Siphephelo Buthelezi] Employers cannot simply overlook the importance of verifying the residency status of foreign employees before dismissal on the grounds of illegal status. The Labour Appeal Court recently considered this issue in the matter of Dunwell Property Services CC v Morgan Sibande and Others (under case number JA7/10, as yet unreported, judgment handed down 15 September, 2011). Read more >>

Popcru backs the DCS equity plan

The Police, Prisons and Civil Rights Union (Popcru) has come out in support of the Department of Correctional Services' plan to apply national, rather than regional demographics in the Western Cape. Popcru supports the plan in spite of opposition by senior officers. According to Popcru Western Cape chairman Francisco Fields, national demographics had to be applied within the DCS because it was a national organisation. Read more >>

Xmas lunch tax-free, but not end-of-year gifts

[Ron Warren] While some people are looking forward to receiving a Christmas bonus, or 13th cheque, others will receive gifts or vouchers, which, contrary to popular belief, are not tax-free - so there is no tax benefit to the employee. Read more >>

The right to sit at work

World Spinal Health Day, was celebrated recently and health24 takes a look at employment laws designed to protect the spines of those who stand at work. "South African legislation is not as explicit as The Law on the Right to Sit in Employment passed by Israel in 2007," says Faan Coetzee, director of employment law at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. Read more >>

Mixed reaction to Zuma's Padayachie move

[Duncan McLeod & Craig Wilson] President Jacob Zuma's decision to redeploy communications minister Roy Padayachie and his deputy, Obed Bapela, has drawn mixed reaction from the information and communications technology industry, with one analyst saying he was "stunned" by the move and that it would delay several important projects, including the migration to digital terrestrial television. Read more >>

SABC makes or breaks communications ministers

[Chris Moerdyk: @chrismoerdyk] When the new communications minister was shifted out of her role as deputy minister of the department last year and into the presidency, I wondered if she breathed a huge sigh of relief. And I wonder now whether she is really as happy as she seems about going back, in spite of being promoted to full minister? Read more >>

Wal-Mart hearings focus on efficiencies, labour

[Paul Vecchiatto] The Competition Appeals court hearings into the Wal-Mart/Massmart merger turned mainly around labour and economic efficiency issues that the giant US retailer could bring into the local market. Read more >>

"Skeem" gets top award for Greene

Cape Town movie director Tim Greene has scooped the Audience Choice award for "Skeem" at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, according to Channel24 and Sowetan Live. "Skeem" is a comedy adventure story about a group of small-time crooks and greedy holiday-makers who scheme to get their hands of a box of cash at a run-down resort. Read more >>