The Eastern Cape provincial government is taking legal action against a Mdantsane fashion designer for possible trademark infringement.
This comes after businessman Sbongiseni Peter registered a clothing label trademark this year under the name Home of Legends.
This is the same tag line that the provincial government has for years used to punt the Eastern Cape as a tourist destination.It was coined because the Eastern Cape is home to a number of anti-apartheid activists such as Nelson Mandela, Chris Hani, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Raymond Mhlaba, among many others.
Office of the Premier spokesperson Mandisa Titi said: “The Home of Legends trademark is properly registered as the property of the Eastern Cape government.
“What we are exploring is the possible infringement on the use of our property,” Titi said.
“In keeping with the Trade Marks Act of 1993, the Office of The Premier [OTP], acting on behalf of the Eastern Cape provincial government, registered the Home of Legends trademark, which was granted on 24 December 2014,” she said.
However, Peter refuted this, saying when he checked, there was no trademark of any kind on the name Home of Legends.
“I have registered a clothing label under the expression Home of Legends ‘trademark’ that is.
“The search came saying there is no one who has registered the expression nor is there any logo whatsoever, therefore I went on with the registration. The file came back with a registration number strictly under clothing only. I did all the checks and the system didn’t reject my registration and I followed procedure,” Peter said.
“Eastern Cape history needs to be celebrated and clothing is key to attract the aspired attention.
“My wish is to see our local people everywhere in South Africa wearing my apparel with a sense of pride to celebrate those on whose shoulders we stand, be it in sport, music..