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© 2026 International In-house Counsel Journal Ltd. | ISSN 1754-0607 | Picture Credits: Freepix, Unsplash and by permission of the authors

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Who Owns the Innovation? IP Title, Start-Up Formation Failures, and the Hidden Cost of Defective Ownership in Investment and Exit Transactions
Intellectual PropertyGeneral
For in-house counsel advising start-ups, intellectual property is often the principal source of value. Software, technical know-how, inventions, brands, data, content and confidential processes may be more important than physical...Read more
Portrait image of Madelein Kleyn
Madelein Kleyn
CEO, Mad K IP Consulting (Pty) Ltd, South Africa
Assignment of Invention – the importance of the assignment date and impact on patent validity
In the recent case, Regents of the University of California and Others v Eurolab (Pty) Ltd and Others ( 2024-039643 ; 2023-108509) [2025] ZACCP 1 (25 February 2025) the Court...Read more
Portrait image of Madelein Kleyn
Madelein Kleyn
CEO, Mad K IP Consulting (Pty) Ltd, South Africa
The Interplay between Antitrust Law and Intellectual Property Law in South Africa: A Critical Analysis of the OECD Recommendation on Intellectual Property Rights and Competition
Intellectual PropertyGeneral
The interplay between competition law and intellectual property remains the subject of much debate. Intellectual property creates monopolistic rights to protect and reward innovation and incentivise creators; whilst competition law...Read more
Portrait image of Madelein Kleyn
Madelein Kleyn
CEO, Mad K IP Consulting (Pty) Ltd, South Africa
Intellectual PropertyGeneral
Patent law differs in each country, but there are some important equitable doctrines that apply across borders. One such a doctrine is prosecution history estoppel. The term Estoppel ...Read more
Portrait image of Madelein Kleyn
Madelein Kleyn
CEO, Mad K IP Consulting (Pty) Ltd, South Africa
A right to copy, right?
Intellectual PropertyConsultant
Copyright is an intellectual property right that vests automatically. The question arises, whether the right has international enforcement due to the nature of the right. Copyright subsists the moment it...Read more
Portrait image of Madelein Kleyn
Madelein Kleyn
CEO, Mad K IP Consulting (Pty) Ltd, South Africa
Freedom to Operate Conundrum
Intellectual PropertyConsultant
Growing a patent portfolio by protecting the innovation derived from research and development investment is merely the beginning to the creation of value. Freedom to use, sell and otherwise...Read more
Portrait image of Madelein Kleyn
Madelein Kleyn
CEO, Mad K IP Consulting (Pty) Ltd, South Africa
Pitfalls and the Opportunities of Commercialising and Managing Co-Created Intellectual Property
Intellectual PropertyAgriculture
Intellectual property rights bestow certain rights upon the creator thereof. In particular the right of ownership. In compliance with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) ...Read more
Portrait image of Madelein Kleyn
Madelein Kleyn
CEO, Mad K IP Consulting (Pty) Ltd, South Africa
Moral Rights: To Waive or not to Waive The Right of an Employer
Intellectual PropertyAgriculture
The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which came into effect on 1 January 1995, is an international legal agreement between the member nations of the...Read more
Portrait image of Madelein Kleyn
Madelein Kleyn
CEO, Mad K IP Consulting (Pty) Ltd, South Africa
Licencing of Patent Applications - Pre-Grant Royalty Earning
Intellectual PropertyAgriculture
Research and development is costly. International patent portfolios even more so. The business strategy of most corporations, when filing a patent application, is to seek some return on R&D investment,...Read more
Portrait image of Madelein Kleyn
Madelein Kleyn
CEO, Mad K IP Consulting (Pty) Ltd, South Africa