ANC and MK Party battle over the uMkhonto we Sizwe trademark in court

The ANC and its splinter organisation, the uMkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP), yesterday locked horns in the Durban High Court in a trademark legal battle around the name of the newly-formed party.

This latest court battle has been dubbed "round two", following Tuesday’s Electoral Court judgment, which favoured the MKP.

The ANC was unsuccessful in its bid to have the MKP de-registered on the basis that the new party’s registration with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) was irregular.

On the second leg of the ANC application, the ANC wants the MKP to be barred from using the name "uMkhonto we Sizwe" and its logo, which the ruling party claims is the ANC’s intellectual property.

MKP legal representative Dali Mpofu kicked off the new party’s argument, by telling the judges that the ANC did not only have no rights over the name uMkhonto we Sizwe, but also that the name MKP and logo were vastly dissimilar to those of the ANC.

Should the ANC supporters resolve to vote for the MKP in the May 29 general elections, Mpofu said, it would not be because of the confusion around the names and logos of the two political parties.

“It will be out of choice,” he said.

The ANC, Mpofu said, had brought a trademark infringement claim — despite the ruling party being aware that it did not own the rights to the name uMkhonto we Sizwe and its logo.

“The ANC has no locus standi to bring a trademark infringement claim.

“The truth of the matter is that these proceedings are, once more, an abuse of court processes,” he said.

However, ANC legal representative Tshidiso Ramogale told the court that the matter was around the intellectual property ownership and not necessarily around the confusion that could be created on elections day if the MKP were to continue using the current name and logo.

The ANC application, Ramogale said, was not intended to bar the MKP from contesting the May 29 general elections, but was rather aimed at stopping the newly-formed party from using an “ANC trademark”. “All we are asking for is that they should change their name because their use of that name and logo is in violation of the Trademark Act,” he said.

Outside the court, the supporters of the two political parties gathered in anticipation of their respective victories.

Former president Jacob Zuma, who announced that he would campaign for the MKP in December, told the newly-formed party’s supporters that the ANC “has no case”. “The only reason the ANC took us to court is because it’s used to having its way.

That’s why they want the court to rule in their favour despite them having a weak case.

We are aware that the courts in this country have always been ruling against us — that has not changed.

“But the problem in this particular case is that the court is forced to rule in our favour because the ANC does not have a strong case,” he said.

ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula, who attended yesterday’s court proceedings, said the ruling party was confident of victory.

“This is a straightforward case. No one is allowed to use the property of the ANC.

We are not saying they should not contest the elections, all we are saying is that they should bring back that which is rightfully ours,” he said.

The court reserved judgment on the matter and no date has been set for the handing down of judgment.