Intellectual-property exchange control eased, but don’t get too excited
Legal and tax experts have welcomed the recent announcement on some relaxation of exchange-control restrictions relating to intellectual property. But it seems there are reservations on how much excitement the relaxation warrants. There may be "only a narrow window of opportunity" for standard cross-border intellectual property (IP) transactions. Darren Margo, director at Margo Attorneys, says there are conditions and qualifications attached to the announcement in the budget presentation in February. Government announced that companies and individuals no longer needed Reserve Bank approval for standard intellectual property transactions. Also proposed was the lifting of the loop-structure restriction for all intellectual property transactions, provided they are at arms’ length and at a fair market price. Loop-structure restrictions prohibit residents from holding a South African asset indirectly through a nonresident entity. Ben Strauss, director at law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, s...
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