SOUTH AFRICA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Daniel Pekar, KISCH IP
What is very important as a general matter is that one must respond to demand letters. In many cases, a failure to respond to a genuine dispute can be det - rimental to a respondent’s credibility. On this point, counter-applications should be grounded in genuine disputes, not used as a tactic. An attempt to frustrate the applicant will be viewed negatively, and the costs for such a counter-application borne by the respond - ent. 4. San Miguel Brewing International Limited v Power Horse Energy Drinks Link: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGP - PHC/2025/1155.html
4.2 Discussion The issue was whether the court should grant a stay of the opposition in favour of the expungement. The court held that a stay order must show, among other things, a substantial prevention of justice and a reasonable apprehension of irreparable harm. San Miguel argued that if its applications were successfully opposed it would lose legal standing in the expunge - ment application. However, the court held that San Miguel failed to establish risk of prejudice and held that San Miguel would retain legal standing if the opposition was successful. The court therefore ordered that the stay application be dismissed as the opposition and expungement proceedings could run concurrently without a risk of It is worthwhile to note that the court expressed its frustration at the unnecessarily long-winded nature of the proceedings. This is certainly a caution against parties engaging in protracted proceedings where such matters can be resolved in a less drawn-out fashion. Conclusion We trust that our detailed review of four selected South African trade mark decisions provides practical guid - ance for trade mark developments and future trends in South Africa, not least, how to apply to register new brands in South Africa, and what to look out for, not to unduly limit trade mark rights, the importance of good record-keeping, and what not to do at the point of enforcement. conflicting decisions. 4.3 Recommendation
Gauteng High Court, Pretoria Judgment: 4 November 2025 4.1 Background
San Miguel Brewing International Limited (the appli - cant) (“San Miguel”) filed two trade mark applications which Power Horse Energy Drinks (the respondent) (“Power Horse”) opposed on the basis of its existing trade mark registrations, which it argued were con - fusingly similar. In response, San Miguel instituted an expungement application against Power Horse’s trade mark registrations on the basis of non-use. Very short - ly before the opposition hearing, San Miguel applied to stay the High Court opposition pending the out - come of the expungement case.
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