If you’re a landlord or tenant, you have plenty on your plate right now. As a tenant, you’re asking yourself: Do I have to pay rent? Does the coronavirus pandemic mean that my landlord has to give me a break? [...]
It looks like in the future courts will decide what a contract means based on what an ordinary reader understands it to mean, rather than by following the traditional laws and rules of interpretation. Article about interpretation Malcolm Wallis recently [...]
Partnerships are legal relationships which are based on contracts where two or more people (or companies) agree to carry on business together with the object of making and sharing profits. Partnerships generally involve an ongoing business relationship. Joint venture partnerships [...]
It is very important to actually sign contracts that you agree to enter into. There are a number of reasons why this is important for you. Contract negotiations between parties can be a lengthy process. You can invest a lot [...]
You are in discussions with a potential investor, a potential joint venture partner, a licensee or a distributor of your intellectual property. Protecting your intellectual property is critical. Can you trust them? Will they walk away with your intellectual property? [...]
Do you have a robust intellectual property strategy? And why does it matter? Intellectual property is one of the key assets of an organisation. It is becoming of ever-increasing importance in this digital world where ideas and information can be [...]
When it comes to legal issues writers face, the challenges may differ according to the category each writer falls into. Academic writers, for example, may face completely different legal issues compared to novelists and poets. The one thing that is certain [...]
What happens when a group of businesses that all sell the same thing, e.g. bread, get together and decide that they will all charge the same price for bread? Well, the consumer is forced to pay this price because there [...]
Using track changes for agreements is a useful way of negotiating changes to agreements electronically. However, there are some critical points to keep in mind when using this tool. The golden rule is that you must ensure the other party [...]
You will sometimes find a penalty clause in a contract. Or you might want to include a penalty clause. Or be asked to include one. It is sometimes difficult for someone to claim damages from another who has not done what they agreed they [...]
We often recommend and use a modular approach to drafting documents (like IT contracts, agreements and policies). Akin to building a document out of lego blocks. Not always, but often. It does not suit every agreement nor every offering. We find [...]
A book called "Plain language, consumerism and reform of South African contract law" has been published. It deals with how the plain language movement and contextualism has reshaped the drafting and interpretation of contracts in South Africa. It is quite [...]
