Case Law[2024] ZAGPPHC 756South Africa
My-China Discount Store (Pty) Ltd v Mosese and Others (076084/2023) [2024] ZAGPPHC 756 (24 July 2024)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria)
24 July 2024
Judgment
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# South Africa: North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
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## My-China Discount Store (Pty) Ltd v Mosese and Others (076084/2023) [2024] ZAGPPHC 756 (24 July 2024)
My-China Discount Store (Pty) Ltd v Mosese and Others (076084/2023) [2024] ZAGPPHC 756 (24 July 2024)
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FLYNOTES:
INTELLECTUAL – Counterfeit goods –
Search
and seizure warrant
–
Application
to set aside – Test purchase conducted – Finding of
counterfeit goods – Entitlement of authorization
for warrant
– Sought search and seizure warrant for copyrights and trade
marks which were never mentioned in complaint
affidavit – No
mention of registered copyrights – Magistrate authorized
warrant despite failure to adhere to
test – Authorization of
warrant not justified – Set aside –
Counterfeit Goods
Act 37 of 1997
,
s 6(1).
SAFLII
Note:
Certain
personal/private details of parties or witnesses have been
redacted from this document in compliance with the law
and
SAFLII
Policy
REPUBLIC
OF SOUTH AFRICA
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
Case
number: 076084/2023
(1)
REPORTABLE: NO
(2)
OF INTEREST TO OTHERS JUDGES: NO
(3)
REVISED
24
July 2024
In
the matter between:
MY-CHINA
DISCOUNT STORE (PTY) LTD
APPLICANT
And
ELIZABETH
T. MOSESE
FIRST RESPONDENT
THE
MINISTER OF POLICE
SECOND
RESPONDENT
JEFFREY
JANUARIE, N.O.
THIRD RESPONDENT
LUCKY
THABETHE, N.O.
FOURTH
RESPONDENT
BONIWE
PRIMEROSE NTLATI, N.O.
FIFTH RESPONDENT
ANNEDEENE
BERNADETTE JORDAAN, N.O.
SIXTH RESPONDENT
LEGO
JURIS A/S
SEVENTH RESPONDENT
LEGO
A/S
EIGHTH RESPONDENT
NATIONAL
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS
NINTH RESPONDENT
MUHAMMAD
MOOLLA STORAGE CC T/A
TENTH RESPONDENT
ALLIED
STORAGE SOLUTIONS
JUDGMENT
MOTHA,
J
:
Introduction
[1]
Following an
ex
parte
application before the first
respondent, the magistrate, a search and seizure warrant was
authorized in terms of s 6 (1) of the
Counterfeit Goods Act 37 of
1997 (the
Counterfeit Goods Act), on
5 April 2023. With goods in
excess of 9500 items seized from its premises at Shop 3[...] M[...]
L[...] C[...] in Benoni, the applicant
brings an application to set
aside the warrant and prays for an order authorizing the return of
goods seized from its premises,
on 18 April 2023.
The
parties
[2]
The applicant is My-China Discount Store
(Pty) Ltd, a private company with limited liability and incorporated
under the laws of
South Africa, which retails a very large variety of
goods including children’s toys, clothes and playthings.
[3]
The first respondent is Elizabeth T Mosese,
a Senior Magistrate in the Magistrate’s Court for the
Magisterial District of
Benoni, who is cited on the basis that she
granted the search and seizure warrant.
[4]
The second respondent is the Minister of
Police, cited in this application in his representative capacity as
the national executive
authority of the South African Police Services
(SAPS), a police service established in terms of Section 5 of the
South African
Police Act 68 of 1995.
[5]
The third respondent is Jeffrey Januarie, a
police official in the employ of the SAPS, and holding the rank of
Warrant Officer,
stationed at the Directorate of Priority Crime
Investigation, Serious Commercial Crime Unit (the DPCI)
[6]
The fourth respondent is Lucky Thabethe, a
police official in the employ of the SAPS, holding the rank of
Lieutenant Colonel stationed
at the DPCI offices.
[7]
The fifth respondent is Boniwe Primerose
Ntlati, a police official in the employ of the SAPS, holding the rank
of Warrant Officer,
stationed at the DPCI offices.
[8]
The six respondent is Annedeene Bernadette
Jordaan, a police official in the employment of the SAPS, holding the
rank of Lieutenant
Colonel, stationed at the DPCI offices
[9]
The seventh respondent is Lego Juris A/S, a
limited liability company incorporated under the laws of Denmark and
part of LEGO business
structure known as LEGO Group.
[10]
The eight respondent is Lego A/S, a limited
liability company incorporated under the laws of Denmark and part of
LEGO business structure
known as LEGO Group.
[11]
The ninth respondent is the National Director of
Public Prosecutions, and the head of the National Prosecuting
Authority (the NPA)
established in terms of Section 179 (1) (a) of
the Constitution.
[12]
The tenth respondent is Muhammed Moola Storage CC
t/a Allied Storage Solutions, a close corporation registered and
incorporated
in terms of the laws of the Republic of South Africa.
The factual
background
[13]
On 27 January 2023, Mrs Ilsemarie Greyvenstein, an
investigator employed at Summit Protection Services (Pty) Ltd
(Summit), purchased
from the applicant the following goods:
1 x QMAN 1932-4 “Mine
City” building block toy set; and
1 x Enlighten ,1017,
“Knights Castle Series” building blocks toy set (test
purchase).
[14]
This
was after Summit had received instructions to conduct a test purchase
from Mr. Saunders, a senior associate at the law firm
Eversheds
Sutherland (SA) Inc (Eversheds), on 23 January 2023. The test
purchase was bagged and sealed at Summit and handed over
to
Eversheds. On 30 January 2023, on Mr. Saunders’ instruction
Ziyaadh Oumar, a candidate attorney at Eversheds, broke the
seal,
removed the test purchase and took photographs of the test purchase.
Following the reasons stated under paragraphs 8.1 to
8.1.10, Mr.
Saunders averred that in his assessment the test purchase were
counterfeit goods in terms of
Counterfeit Goods Act. He
, further,
stated that he had received brand identification training from the
LEGO Group.
[1]
[15]
On 1
March 2023, the seventh and eight respondents complained against the
applicant to the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations
Serious
Commercial Crime Unit, Germiston, in terms of
Section 3
(1) of the
Counterfeit Goods Act. The
s 3(1)
complaint comprised of the
affidavits of Mr. Saunders (the complaint affidavit), Mr. Oumar’s
and Mrs. Greyvenstein’s.
Lego urged the third to sixth
respondents to apply for a search and seizure warrant authorizing the
search of the applicant’s
premises and the seizure of
counterfeit goods bearing Lego’s
[2]
purported intellectual property rights. On the strength of these
affidavits, the third respondent, J.Januarie, applied for a search
and seizure warrant in terms of
s 6(1)
of the
Counterfeit Goods Act.
[16]
On 5 April 2023, the first respondent heard the
ex
parte
application in chambers brought
by the third respondent and issued a warrant in terms of which the
DPCI members were granted the
search and seizure warrant.
[17]
Accompanied by Mr. Saunders, the DPCI members
arrived at the applicant’s premises unannounced for the
purposes of executing
the search and seizure warrant, on18 April
2023. Acting on the strength of the warrant, they seized a
significant quantity of goods
belonging to the applicant. These items
were removed from the applicant’s premises and stored at the
premises of the tenth
respondent.
[18]
Following
the execution of the search warrant, the NPA charged the applicant,
the applicant’s sole director, Mrs. Louise Margarita
Head and
Justin Kyle Head. On 17 May 2023, they were served with summons to
appear in the Regional Division of Benoni on 26 June
2023 and charged
with contravening the provisions of
s 2(2)(1)(a)
read with
s 1
,
2
(1)(a) and or
2
(1) (c), and or
2
(1) (e),
10
,
16
,
19
and
20
of the
Counterfeit Goods Act.
[3
]
[19]
On 12 May 2023, Lego instituted a civil action
against the applicant in which it sought interdictory and other
ancillary relief
founded on the trademark act 194 of 1993 (the Trade
Marks Act) and the Copyright Act 98 of 1993 (the Copyright Act) and
the
Counterfeit Goods Act.
>
[20]
On 26 June and 3 July 2023 Mrs. and Mr. Heads
appeared in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court.
The law
[21]
The
schematic framework of the
Counterfeit Goods Act is
captured in the
case of
Beyond
Platinum (Pty) Ltd v Ellies Electronics.
[4]
Examining the Act, the
court said:
“
The
Act prescribes the procedure to be followed to obtain such a warrant.
‘Protected goods’ in terms of the Act are
inter alia
defined as ‘goods featuring, bearing, embodying or
incorporating the subject matter of an intellectual property
right
with the authority of the owner of that intellectual property right,
or goods to which that subject matter has
been applied
by that owner or with his or her authority’.
The purpose of the Act
is to protect against the unlawful application
of intellectual property rights and against the release of
counterfeit goods
into the channels of commerce. ‘Counterfeiting’
is defined in s 1 of the Act. Section 2 makes it an offence to trade
in counterfeit goods and to possess them for that purpose. Section 3
provides for the laying of a complaint by a person who has
an
interest in ‘protected goods’, whether as owner,
licensee, importer, exporter or distributor where such person
reasonably suspects that an offence referred to in s 2 has been or is
being committed or is likely to be committed.
[3] In
terms of s 3(1) of the Act, persons identified in the preceding
paragraph, may lay a charge with an inspector, who,
may include a
police official as defined in
s
1(1)
of
the
Criminal
Procedure Act 51 of 1977
,
holding the rank of sergeant or a higher rank. The inspector, in
turn, in terms of s 4 of the Act, either on the strength of the
complaint or the strength of any other information at his or her
disposal, if he or she has reason to suspect that an offence
contemplated in s 2(2) of the Act has been or is being committed or
is likely to be committed, or that an act of dealing in counterfeit
goods has taken or is taking place or is likely to take place, has
the power of search and seizure set out, fairly extensively,
in s
4.”
[5]
[22]
These powers of search and seizure are only available to the officer
following
an authorisation by a judge of the high court or a
magistrate who has jurisdiction in the applicable area in terms of
s
6(1)
of the
Counterfeit Goods Act. Thereafter
, the provisions of
s
7(2)(a)
of the
Counterfeit Goods Act read
with
s 9(1)(a)
must be
complied with.
[23]
Unpacking the meaning of
counterfeiting, t
he
court in the matter of
Puma
v Rampar Trading
[6]
at paragraph 13 said the following:
“
Counterfeiting
is defined in
s 1
(1) in a somewhat opaque manner but one thing is
clear: it is not the same as copyright or trademark infringement-
it
requires more
[my
emphasis]. This follows from the proviso to this definition, namely
that ‘the relevant act of counterfeiting must also
have
infringed the intellectual property right in question.”
[24]
From this explanation it is clear that not all
intellectual property right infringements, for our purposes be it
trademark infringement
or copyright infringement, amount to
counterfeiting.
[25]
Further examining the definition of
counterfeiting, the court in
Puma
mentions the elements under (a) and (b) as
follows:
“
[14]
The elements of counterfeiting under paragraph (a) of the definition
are in logical order: -
i. manufacturing,
producing or making of any goods
ii. in the Republic or
elsewhere
iii. without the
authority of the owner of any IPR
iv. subsisting in the
Republic
v. in respect of
protected goods
vi. whereby they are
imitated
vii. in such a manner and
to such a degree that they are substantially identical copies of the
protected goods.
[15] Counterfeiting under
para (b), in turn, means: -
i. manufacturing,
producing or making, or applying to goods
ii. in the Republic or
elsewhere
iii. without the
authority of the owner of any IPR
iv. subsisting in the
republic
v. in respect of
protected goods
vi. the subject matter of
that I PR or a colourable imitation
vii. so that the
‘infringing’ goods are calculated to be confused with or
to be taken as being the protected goods of
the IPR owner.”
[26]
The court stated that paragraph (a) of the
definition of counterfeiting deals with copyright while paragraph (b)
focuses on trademarks.
At paragraph 16, the court further elaborated
on this distinction and held:
“
The
words ‘substantially identical copies’ in para (a) are
phrased in copyright terms while the concepts in para (b),
‘colorable
imitation’ and ‘calculated to be confused’ are cast
in traditional trademark terminology.”
A brief look at trade
marks, for our purposes.
[27]
When dealing with intellectual property rights, it
must be demonstrated, at least
prima
facie
, that one has the right to that
intellectual property. With trademarks, it is easy because one can
register trademarks, and produce
a copy of the certificate or an
extract from the trademark’s office. It bears mentioning that
trade marks protect notional
goods not actual goods, as the court
stated in
Puma,
when
it said:
“
Shorn
of verbiage para (b) covers any particular class or kind of goods
which may bear a registered trade mark, but has not yet
been produced
or to which it has not yet been applied with the authority of or by
the IP owner. In other words, the goods
protected by para (b)
are not actual goods but notional goods, i.e., goods to which the
owner could have applied the trademark.
It means that counterfeiting
is possible without cloning and the fact that Puma may not have
produced a shoe bearing the particular
trade mark does not mean that
Rampar’s shoes could not be counterfeit”
[7]
[28]
It, accordingly, follows that when dealing with
trade mark counterfeiting, one of the elements that must be present
is the subject
matter of the Intellectual Property Right or a
colourable imitation. On the issue of the subject matter, the court
said:
“
To
be ‘the subject matter’ means, as mentioned, that the
Rampar mark must be identical to a Puma trade mark. An ‘imitation,
‘in turn, is by definition a copy, and the adjective colourable
reinforces the fact that the copy is counterfeit. In other
words, the
definition says no more than that a counterfeit must be counterfeit.
That is why it must be calculated to be confused
with or ‘taken
as being the registered mark and why it involves deliberate and
fraudulent infringement of trademarks”
[8]
[29]
Therefore, if a mark infringes
s 34(1)(a)
of Trade
Mark Act, it is not enough for a finding that there is
counterfeiting. It must be an identical mark or a copy, not a mark
that nearly resembles it as to be likely to deceive or cause
confusion. Hence the court emphasized, in
Phuma,
that:
“
This
test is not the same as the standard trade mark infringement test of
‘ likely to deceive or cause confusion’- but
counterfeiting, by its very nature, amounts
a
fortiori
to
trade mark infringement.”
[9]
A brief look at
Copyrights, for our purposes
[30]
Since
this is a technical field, it is apt to refer to the case of
King
v South African Weather Services
[10]
to
understand what copyright is. Describing copyright the court
said:
“
Copyright
is a creature of statute and has to be found within the four corners
of a statute, in particular the
Copyright
Act 98 of 1978
.
Certain
defined works (of which computer programs are one) are eligible for
copyright under the Act. This assumes, however, that
the work
concerned is ‘original’
(s
2(1))
and
has been reduced to a material form
(s
2(2)).
In
addition, copyright must have been conferred by virtue of
nationality, domicile or residence or as a result of first
publication
(s
3
and
4
).
It is accordingly of the utmost importance for a copyright claimant
at the outset to identify the work or works which are said
to have
been infringed by the defendant.
[7]
Copyright infringement is (subject to an irrelevant exception)
actionable ‘at the suit of the owner of the copyright’
(s
24(1)).
It
is only actionable at the suit of the author if the author is also
the owner.”
[11]
[31]
The literary work or artistic work, which is what
is of interest to us in this case, should be original. The author or,
in the case
of a work of joint authorship, any one of the authors at
the time the work or a substantial part was made must be a qualified
person.
The issues
[32]
On 2 March 2023, in his affidavit, the third
respondent wrote that he received an affidavit of complaint deposed
to by Scott Jonathan
Saunders in terms of
s 3
of the
Counterfeit
Goods Act. Importantly
, he wrote that “having considered the
averments in the complaint made under oath” he was reasonably
satisfied that
Scott Jonathan Saunders was prima facie entitled to
lay a complaint in terms of
s 3
of the
Counterfeit Goods Act.
[33
]
In deciding whether the third respondent,
prima facie,
made
out a case which entitled the authorization of the search and seizure
warrant, the first respondent of necessity, must have
read the three
affidavits, namely the complaint affidavit by Scott Jonathan
Saunders, Ilisemarie Greyvenstein’s affidavit
and Ziyaadh
Oumar’s affidavit. These documents were presented to her by the
third respondent when he moved the application.
[34]
It is, therefore, bizarre that the third
respondent sought a search and seizure warrant for copyrights and
trade marks in Annexures
“A” and “B,” which
were never mentioned in the complaint affidavit. The third
respondent’s Annexure
“A” referred to the following
trade marks:
1973/06341
LEGO
1987/07145
2014/05353 Duplo
2020/03477 Friends
2020/02751 Ninjago
2020/02750 Ninjago
[35]
Mr. Saunders never mentioned these trademarks in
the complaint affidavit. As if that was not enough, the third
respondent sought
a search and seizure warrant for Registered
Copyrights under Annexure “B”, namely:
VA 2-009-703
VA 2-009-706
VA 1-876-291
[36]
Again, Mr. Saunders’ complaint affidavit
made no mention of these Registered copyrights. Besides the
questionable adjective
“registered” copyright, perhaps
they were registered overseas, it is unknown from where he got these
trade marks and
registered copyrights. What is worse is that the
magistrate authorized a warrant for the search and seizure of these
trademarks
and registered copyrights. It is mind-boggling from where
they both (first and third respondents) got these trade marks and
registered
copyright mentioned under annexures “A” and
“B”. Inevitably, one asks oneself a rhetorical question
whether
the first respondent took the trouble to read Mr. Saunders’
complaint affidavit or simply followed what the third respondent
told
her. Under these circumstances, it is difficult to argue with the
statement at paragraph 95 of the founding affidavit, viz:
“
It
is unclear to the applicant how Magistrate Mosese could have issued a
warrant relating to trademarks and copyrights which was
not before
her on the papers… she did not apply her mind.”
[37]
When confronted by the court on this issue,
counsel for the third to sixth respondents submitted that she had no
answer save to
say she was told that there was a specific team
selected for warrants and uses a standard form. In view of what is at
stake and
that this is a technical field, this falls far too short of
what is expected of these officials. Interestingly, counsel for the
seventh and eighth respondents conceded, as they did not know how
this happened, but submitted that the court could sever the offending
trademarks and copyright from the warrant. I am afraid this is at the
heart of this matter. This is, particularly, so, if one is
mindful of
the sanctity of the rights invaded by the warrant. Pronouncing on
this issue, the court in
Beyond Platinum
said
:
“
The
remedies contained in the Act are far-reaching and highly invasive.
They impact negatively upon constitutionally enshrined rights
to
privacy, property ownership and fair trial of a suspected trader. It
is settled that these provisions should be resorted to
only when it
is justifiable to do so. That is, when ‘there are reasonable
grounds for believing that an act of dealing in
counterfeit goods has
taken or is taking place’....”
[12]
[38]
Underscoring
this point is the matter of
Powell
NO And Others v Van Der Merwe NO And Others
[13]
where
the court said:
“
Our
law has a long history of scrutinizing search warrants with rigour
and exactitude- indeed, with some technical rigour and exactitude.
The common-law rights so protected are now enshrined, subject to
reasonable limitation, in s 14 of the Constitution
‘
Everyone
has the right to privacy, which includes the right not to have-
(a) their person or their
home searched;
(b) their property
searched;
(c) their possessions
seized; or
(d)
the privacy of their communications infringed”
[14]
[39]
The fact that the goods were not seized is cold
comfort. On this point alone, this court would be well within its
rights to set
aside the warrant. Alas, there is more. One of the
trademarks mentioned by Saunders’ complaint affidavit at
paragraph 5 had
expired. The sad saga commences with the heading
which reads as follows:
“
TRADE
MARK
5.1
The first Complainant is the owner and registered proprietor of
inter
alia,
the following registered, valid and in force trade marks in
South Africa, which are registered in terms of the provisions of the
Trade Marks Act No.194 of 1993 (the “
Trade Marks Act&rdquo
;):
5. 1.1 Trade mark
registration no. 1981/01051 “LEGO” in class 28 for:
“
Games
and playthings; gymnastic in sporting articles (except clothing);
ornaments and decorations for Christmas trees; but insofar
as insofar
as the aforegoing do not include toys, parts thereof and accessories
therefor”
[40]
For
our purposes, the important statement to highlight in subparagraph
5.1 is “valid and in force trade marks in South Africa”.
To prove,
inter
alia,
the
registration number and validity of these trade marks, these
trademarks were accompanied by trade mark information sheet. When
zeroing in on the trade mark registration no 1981/01051, one notices
that Expiry Date reads
2021-02-17
.
Therefore, when Mr. Januarie appeared before the magistrate on
05-04-2023,
per
the stamp on the warrant, this trademark had expired for over two
years. At best this was not brought to the attention of the
first
respondent, nor did she become aware of this discrepancy. At worst
the first respondent saw this discrepancy and ignored
it. Mindful
that this was an
ex
parte
application,
which call for utmost good faith, it is apt to refer to what was said
in
Schlesinger
v Schlesinger
[15]
:
“
It
appears quite clearly from these authorities that:
(1) in ex
parte applications all material facts must be disclosed which might
influence a Court in coming to a decision;
(2) the
non-disclosure or suppression of facts need not be wilful or mala
fide to incur the penalty of rescission; and
(3) the
Court, apprised of the true facts, has a discretion to set or to
preserve it.
Although
these broad principles appear well-settled, I have not come across an
authoritative statement as to when a Court will exercise
its
discretion in favour of a party who has been remiss in its duty to
disclose, rather than to set aside the order obtained by
it on
incomplete facts”
[16]
[41]
The fact that the mark was subsequently renewed is
immaterial. At the time when the first respondent was confronted with
these documents,
this trademark had expired for more than two years.
And, yet a search and seizure warrant for this trademark was
authorized. In
casu
the
concatenation of evidence more than points to the probability that
these affidavits were not perused.
[42]
Reading the complaint affidavit in paragraphs
8.1.1 and 8.1.6, one is left with the impression that the LEGO word
mark and logo
had been applied to the test purchase but not in the
way LEGO applies those marks to its products. In short, the complaint
was
that the applicant was using all three registered trade marks of
LEGO, namely the LEGO word mark, LEGO logo and Blank Figurine Mark.
This was incorrect. It ought to have been disclosed to the first
respondent that Lego’s case was that the three-dimensional
Figurines contained in the packaging of the applicant’s goods
and the two-dimensional depictions of those Figurines on the
packaging itself constitute marks that are identical or confusingly
similar to Lego Juris’ three-dimensional Figurine mark.
This
was misleading.
[43]
Focusing
on the copyright under 5.4 of the complainant’s affidavit, the
magistrate is not told who the author was of the artwork
and design
(Artistic Work as defined in
Copyright Act) appearing
on LEGO
catalogues and packaging. The court in
Memory
Institute SA CC t/a Memory Institute v Hansen and Others
[17]
said
at paragraph 5:
“
The
appellant alleged that it held copyright in documents but these have
neither been identified nor produced, a novel way of proving
copyright. Then Van Vuuren said that he is the author of these
documents; later said he is the co-author. He failed to inform anyone
of when the works were created…Originality of these phantom
works is not alleged
(s 2(1)).
”
[44]
This is the same as in this case, furthermore, the
magistrate is not told whether the author is a ‘Qualified
Person.’
Section 3(1)
of the
Copyright Act makes
it clear who
the Qualified Person must be. It reads:
“
copyright
shall be conferred by this section on every work, eligible for
copyright, of which the author or in the case of a work
of joint
authorship, anyone of the authors is it the time of the work or a
substantial part thereof is made, a qualified person,
that is-
(a) in the case of an
individual, a person who is a South African citizen or is domiciled
or resident in the Republic; or
(b) in the case of a
juristic person a body corporate under the laws of the Republic.”
[45]
The statement at paragraph 5.6 of the complaint
affidavit to the effect that both South Africa and Denmark are
signatories to the
Berne Convention of Literary and Artistic Works
does not help because s 37 of the Act was not complied with. The
court in
Memory,
at
para 6, held:
“
Not
able to satisfy the requirements of the Act, counsel pinned his hope
on the Berne Convention on Copyright to which South Africa
is a
signatory, apparently not realizing that accession to the Convention
did not in itself make it part of our law…”
[46]
In dealing with the trademark infringement and
referring to paragraph 5.1 of the complaint, the respondent states at
paragraph 92
and 93:
“
The
photographs shown of the Test Purchases in annexures “E1”
and “E2” to the Complaint, at first glance,
show the LEGO
MINI-FIGURE FIGURINE trade mark or marks confusingly similar thereto,
being used in relation to the seized goods.
It is not disputed that
the Applicant that these goods were not made with the authority of
either the Seventh or Eighth Respondent.
Properly considered, it
is clear that the Complaint does contain sufficient allegations to
establish, at least on a
prima facie
basis, trademark
infringement.”
[47]
This is a wrong test if one has regard to
Puma
case. This is a standard of trademark infringement
but for counterfeiting more is needed. In fact, the court said:
“
Reference
during argument to the test to be applied to determine the likelihood
of deception and confusion, confusing similarity,
to passing-off
principles, …how Rampar intended to market the goods was,
accordingly, singularly out of place and unhelpful.”
[18]
[48]
Despite this failure to adhere to the test, the
magistrate authorized the warrant.
The
totality of evidence leads to the ineluctable finding that the first
respondent failed to apply her mind or exercise her discretion
properly or at all when authorizing the search and seizure warrant.
Even on the lowest of thresholds, let alone on
prima
facie
basis, the facts do not pass
muster to justify the authorization of a search and seizure warrant.
Therefore, the warrant falls to
be set aside.
Costs
[49]
It is trite that costs follow the results. I do
not see any reason to depart from that well-trodden path. In the
result, I make
the following order.
Order
1.
The warrant issued in chambers by the First
Respondent, Magistrate Elizabeth T. Mosese, N.O, in the Magistrate’s
Court for
the Magisterial District of Benoni providing for search of
the Applicant’s premises at Shop 3[...], M[...] L[...] C[...]
corner […] Avenue and […] Street, Northmead, Benoni
(“the premises”) and seizure of goods situated at
the
premises is hereby set aside;
2.
The Third to Sixth Respondents are hereby ordered
to return the goods they seized at the Applicant’s premises on
18 April
2023, and which are described in the inventory attached to
the Notice of Motion as “NOM1” to the Applicant;
3.
The Second to Eight Respondents are ordered to pay
the costs of this application jointly and severally each paying the
other to
be absolved, including costs of two council on scale C.
M.P.
MOTHA
JUDGE OF THE HIGH
COURT, PRETORIA
Date of hearing: 02 May
2024
Date of judgment: 24 July
2024
APPEARANCES:
COUNSEL
FOR APPLICANT:
R.
MICHAU SC AND L. G. KILMARTIN INSTRUCTED BY BOUWERS INC.
COUNSEL
FOR 2
ND
– 6
TH
RESPONDENTS:
M.
LEKWAPE INSTRUCTED BY STATE ATTORNEY PRETORIA
COUNSEL
FOR 7
TH
& 8
TH
RESPONDENTS:
I.
JOUBERT SC AND N RUHUNDA INSTRUCTED BY EVERSHEDS SUTHERLAND (SA)
INC.
[1]
Complainant
affidavit para 8.2 (009-13)
[2]
Applicant’s
heads of argument para 2
[3]
Founding
affidavit para 22
[4]
(Pty) Ltd (73/2020)
[2020] ZASCA 154
; [2020] HIPR 157 (SCA) (27
November 2020
[5]
Supra paras 2 and 3
[6]
2010
ZASCA 149
[7]
Para
19 of Puma
[8]
Supra
para 23
[9]
Para
24 of Puma
[1]
[10]
.(716/07)
[2008] ZASCA 143
; 2008 BIP 330 (SCA) ;
2009 (3) SA 13
(SCA) ;
[2009]
2 All SA 31
(SCA) (27 November 2008)
[11]
Supra
paras 6 and 7
[12]
Beyond Platinum para 23
[13]
2005(5)
SA62(SCA)
[14]
Supra
para 50
[15]
1979(4)SA
342 (W)
[16]
Supra
p349
[17]
2004
(2) SA 630 (SCA)
[18]
Para
24 of Puma
sino noindex
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