SWART

13/03/2026

Fun day out at Stellenbosch Bowling Club.

12/03/2026

[ ] THE RISK OF IMPLIED TRADE MARK LICENCES

In this blog post, Erin Botha and Dérick Swart explore the risks that may arise from the use of trade marks within an associated group of companies without a written licence agreement, and explain how easy it could be to mitigate the potential vulnerabilities.

Read the blog post here: https://buff.ly/vRKv2yv

20/02/2026

[ ] CAN AN EMPLOYEE BE A "OPERATOR" FOR PURPOSES OF POPIA?

The Kwazulu-Natal High Court recently decided a case regarding an ex-employee's solicitation of business from his former employer. Usually, such cases turn on the interpretation of the restraint of trade, non-solicitation and confidentiality provisions in an employee's contract, but in Zulu Nyama Game Ranch (Pty) Ltd v Beukes and Another [2025] ZAKZDHC 87, the Protection of Personal Information Act of 2013 also featured prominently as an additional basis for relief.

In this blogpost, our Mari Louw consider the court's finding that an employee can act as an "operator" when processing personal information on behalf of their employer.

Read the post here: https://buff.ly/oIyhXhx

12/02/2026

[ ] ECTA'S FRAMEWORK FOR AUTOMATED TRANSACTIONS AND TRANSACTIONAL AGENTIC AI

The same provisions in the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act designed to give legal effect to automated transactions in the early 2000's when electronic data interchange between businesses was the next big thing, may have a renewed role to play in the era of transactional agentic AI, where systems can act with a degree of autonomy, interact with other systems, and execute tasks that look increasingly like commercial "agency".

Dérick Swart and Kiera Jackson consider this issue in our latest blog post.

Read it here: https://buff.ly/Z2fO6Ko

12/12/2025

27/10/2025

[ ] THE ROLE OF SOFT LAW IN AI GOVERNANCE – A REGIONAL APPROACH

Regulating artificial intelligence (AI) is a complex and time-consuming exercise. This is evident from the development of the first comprehensive AI legislation in the world, namely the EU AI Act (2024). Some countries such as Brazil, South Korea and China have since then adopted specific legislation on AI, while more countries are busy with the legislative processes to adopt AI legislation.

The rapid development of new forms of AI, such as new generative AI models and AI agents, continue to outpace the legislative processes by far. The need for appropriate regulation remains and it is in fact increasingly important in view of the increased risks related to the use of AI, in particular generative AI.

In this post, Dirk Brand considers how a "soft law" approach can help guide organisations developing advanced AI systems in a responsible and ethical manner, pending mature regulatory frameworks.

https://buff.ly/drczOhW

16/10/2025

[ ] UNITED KINGDOM MOVES TO LIMIT TRADE MARKS WITH BROAD SPECIFICATIONS

The UK Supreme Court’s decision in SkyKick UK Ltd v Sky Ltd, and the UK Intellectual Property Office’s response in Practice Amendment Notice 1/25 (PAN 1/25), mark a clear shift away from the tolerance of defensive trade mark filings. The message is simple: a trade mark specification must reflect genuine commercial intent, not speculative coverage.

Read our post at https://buff.ly/KMH5Ega

07/08/2025

WELLNESS DAY CLOSURE
After a busy and successful month, our office will be closed tomorrow, 8 August 2025, for a team wellness day. For anything urgent, please email [email protected].

24/06/2025

[ ] CASELAW DEVELOPMENT ON EXCHANGE CONTROL AND CRYPTO CURRENCY

On 15 May 2025, the Gauteng Division of the High Court delivered a decision in Standard Bank of South Africa v South African Reserve Bank and Others [2025] ZAGPPHC 481 that draws attention to the interpretive boundaries of South Africa's Exchange Control Regulations, particularly in the context of cryptocurrency.

At the heart of the judgment lies a simple but legally consequential question: Is cryptocurrency "currency", "capital", or even "money" for the purposes of the Exchange Control Regulations, 1961?

Read Mari and Lizmari's post here: https://buff.ly/fBGqWhk

14/05/2025

AI & THE LAW SEASON 3 EPISODE 6: The responsible adoption of AI in business.

This evening at 18h00 at the Ou Hoofgebou, Maties enrolled in our program will have the opportunity to engage with a panel of experts on how AI can be responsibly adopted in business and legal practice.

Our panel consists of the following experts.

Prof Willem Botha. Prof Fourie leads the Policy Innovation Lab at Stellenbosch University School for Data Science and Computational Thinking. The Lab develops AI tools, governance approaches and training aimed at strengthening policymaking. Prof. Fourie co-founded a legal AI startup, worked for a global tech company and developed one of the world’s largest open access AI-driven knowledge databases.

Retief Ge**er. As the CEO and co-founder of Spatialedge, I lead a team of engineers and business professionals who are passionate about developing innovative enterprise solutions utilising big data and artificial intelligence. With over twenty years of experience in this field, I have successfully launched and scaled several products and services that help clients across various industries improve their decision making and operational efficiency.

Dr Dirk Brand. Dr Brand is an independent legal consultant, special counsel at Swart Law and an Extraordinary Senior Lecturer at the School of Public Leadership, Stellenbosch University. Dr Brand has published numerous articles and book contributions on AI and the law, constitutional law, data protection, public governance and international relations that appeared in publications in South Africa, Italy, USA, Germany and the Netherlands. He serves as a Policy Fellow at the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy (CAIDP) in Washington D.C.

The conversation will be lead by our Dérick Swart.

06/05/2025

AI & THE LAW: SEASON 3 EPISODE 5 - AI & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Enrolled students at Stellenbosch University are in for a treat this Wednesday!

Dr Andrew Rens will open with a brief overview of intellectual property in context, before turning to the core questions of infringement when copyrighted works are used to train large language models, and whether the resulting outputs can be protected by copyright.

05/05/2025

DEODORISING SWEAT EQUITY: NEW REGIME FOR DEALING WITH INCENTIVE STRUCTURES

South Africa's Companies Act has been amended to provide a clearer framework for issuing shares in exchange for future services—commonly known as "sweat equity". The previous reliance on vague trust arrangements has been replaced with a structured stakeholder model, enhancing legal certainty and compliance. This shift is particularly relevant for startups and growth-stage ventures seeking to reward key contributors without immediate cash outlay.

Read our blog post here: https://buff.ly/gSz7SLa