ANC granted leave to appeal MK party trademark case at Supreme Court

The African National Congress (ANC) has been granted leave to appeal a high court order dismissing its trademark infringement case against former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party.

The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) High Court in Durban last week heard the ANC’s application to appeal a previous judgment in favour of the MK party.

The ANC accused the MK party of theft, arguing that the registered name and trademarked logo of the Jacob Zuma-led political formation bears resemblance to the emblem of the ruling party’s former military wing, uMkhonto weSizwe, which was dissolved in 1993.

Ruling

Judge Mahendra Chetty on Thursday found there are “reasonable prospects of success” in the ANC‘s application.

“With these principles in mind and having heard argument from counsel, I am satisfied that the appeal would have reasonable prospect of success as another court could differ from the view that I have reached, including those relating to jurisdiction, locus standi as well as the merits of the trademark infringement in respect of which the applicant submits that my conclusion differs from that of the Supreme Court of Appeal in Adcock Ingram Intellectual Property (Pty) Ltd and another v Cipla Medpro (Pty) Ltd and another.

“The matter will have implications for the parties concerned and their members at a national level. I am therefore of the view that leave to appeal should be granted to the Supreme Court of Appeal,” Chetty ruled.

Chetty also said the costs of the application for leave to appeal “shall be the costs in the appeal”.

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MK party trademark case

The high court, on 22 April, ruled that it lacked jurisdiction regarding the ANC’s urgent application and dismissed the case with costs.

The court, however, did not make an order on the ownership of the name. The ANC immediately decided to appeal the judgment.

During court proceedings, Advocate Gavin Marriott, counsel for the ANC, pointed out that no determination was made regarding the ownership of the MK trademark.

However, he contended that the judgment was still “clearly appealable” since the case was not struck from the roll.

The ANC at the time argued that the logos of the governing party and MK party are so similar that they will confuse voters when they get their ballot paper on election day.

“What MK seeks to do is ride on the coattails of the ANC’s heritage and to ride all the way into parliament. They don’t have their own history or legacy and so they’re riding on the coattails of the ANC’s history and legacy in order to achieve the same advantage which the ANC enjoys as a result of its history.

“That’s where the dilution of the value, the advertising value, power of attraction, prestige and repute that vests in this mark is being diluted,” ANC lawyer Gavin Marriot said.

Addiitonal reporting by Molefe Seeletsa.

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