South Africa, Nov. 9 -- This is precisely the situation faced by Plato Coffee, one of South Africa's fastest-growing coffee brands. The company's director, Stephan Bredell, became aware of two coffee shops; one in Tehran, Iran, and the other in Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia; that had allegedly copied Plato Coffee's logo. As Bredell put it, this was "not just 'inspired by' or similar vibes - it was full-on Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V energy".

The converse is also true. Have you ever seen a brand overseas and wondered whether you could register that same name or logo in South Africa? The answer might surprise you.

Trade mark rights are, by their very nature, territorial. This means that, except in some circumstances, a trade mark registered in one country...