Forbes Africa has reported that the pending issue of trademark infringement and misrepresentation between Forbes Africa and Sbusiso Leope, over the false Forbes Africa cover, has attained closure, and has been resolved amicably.
"The image of Leope with the beverage MoFaya on the Forbes Africa cover contains the unauthorised use of our trademark, brand name and logo. Further, the endorsement of the image on social media, by posting and retweeting said image, contains no disclaimers and has created much confusion amongst our readers. While, Leope admits that he did not create the image, our fundamental contention is the image endorsed by him on social media is the unlicensed use of Forbes Africa's exclusive intellectual property rights. Further, the image is misleading and represents an affiliation that does not exist and has not been approved by Forbes Africa. Leope has duly acknowledged our concerns and has agreed to take down the image from his social media networks. It is also important to note that Leope has made it clear that it was not his intention to mislead our readers.
"We seek to state that our intentions are purely to safeguard the Forbes Africa trademark and brand name, and protect our readers from being misled by the image. Leope's spirit of entrepreneurship has been featured in Forbes.com USA, and we duly acknowledge that. The matter is resolved to the satisfaction of both parties."
