THERE IS AN UPDATE TO THIS STORY UNDERNEATH THE ORIGINAL STORY…

It’s been a torrid start to 2019 for Woolworths, who continue to be hauled over the coals for their treatment of Shannon McLaughlin, and South African small businesses in general.

Shannon is the creator of the Ubuntu Baba carrier, who detailed her shock and hurt at finding out Woolworths had stolen her idea in a now-viral blog post.

Eventually, Woolies did take notice, and reps from the company met with Shannon on Wednesday to plot the path forward.

At the time, it seemed like the meeting had gone well, but those good vibes seem to have disappeared.

Here’s Shannon’s tweet from yesterday evening:

Ian Moir would be the Woolworths CEO, in case you were wondering.

To Power FM we go, then, and their interview with Shannon. Here’s a synopsis of the interview:

Ubuntu Baba founder Shannon McLaughlin is having none of Woolworths’ antics.

She has given the retailer until 12:00 on Friday to contact her  – or face screenshots of their letter to her being shared on social media…

She told [Power FM host Ayabonga] Cawe that mere minutes before the interview she received a letter from Woolworths indicating how much they have given back to small businesses.

She says Woolworths should stop sending other managers to contact her, as she wants to talk to the company’s chief executive officer Ian Moir.

“Woolworths have until 12:00 for Ian Moir to contact me personally. I will screenshot this letter they have written to me and will put it out for everyone to read.

“I can’t believe they sent me a link to a YouTube video with a case study of how they give back to small businesses,” says McLaughlin.

She is unhappy with the retailer’s conduct and wants them to publicly detail how they plan to address the matter and upskill small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“I want Woolworths to be public about their procedures about how they plan to fix all these years of pushing down SMEs in South Africa. Standing behind their adverts all over social media, their stores and branding ‘good business journey, we support entrepreneurs’ because that is nonsense.

“They need to stand up and tell us how. They can’t say we are tightening the screws. It’s just ridiculous,” concludes McLaughlin.

You can listen for yourself below:

You have until midday, Woolworths, so I’d get on this ASAP.

Of course, as has been well documented, this isn’t the first time they’ve been accused of stealing ideas from small businesses. There are probably many more examples to come out of the woodwork in due course (here’s another recent allegation), so how can people go about ensuring they are protected against big corporates?

Fin24 spoke with Elaine Bergenthuin, MD of De Beer Attorneys, who had a few suggestions:

…out of the various options available to entrepreneurs in terms of protecting their intellectual property, a patent was the most useful. The process, however, wasn’t necessarily easy…

The process of getting a patent, however, could take a year, and the cost depends on the law firm used to get it. She said it could cost up to R40 000. It lasts for 20 years from the date of filing and can be renewed annually, Bergenthuin said.

They also spoke with Director at Norton Rose Fulbright, Likonelo Magagula:

[She] told Fin24 that if you want to register a patent, you would need to have an idea which no one in the world has come up with – but that this is not the only option available to small businesses.

She said in the case of Ubuntu Baba, McLaughlin does not need a patent, as she has a design which she can register with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC).

A design does not necessarily have to be completely new, like a patent, she explained.

For small businesses who do not know where to start, they can approach the CIPC, which has officers who can provide direction on how to protect an idea. They can determine if a patent or a design should be registered.

If an entrepreneur wants to approach a lawyer, Magagula advised going to a boutique Intellectual Property Firm as they would be best positioned to provide guidance.

Another handy bit of advice is to ensure you’ve tied up the legal aspects before approaching potential funders:

“Before you knock on doors, invest in a lawyer. They are expensive – but so is having your idea out there and not having protection against someone copying it,” she explained.

She said f you want to approach funders, make sure you have a provisional patent, if not a patent. A provisional patent is not a complete patent, but as an entrepreneur it will give you the protection you need to work on an idea and at the same time protect it from being stolen.

Magagula said there was no way that a potential funder could steal an idea if you have a provisional patent.

Sadly, when the big guns are caught out, the costs of taking them on often hinder any sort of legal recourse:

…if there should be any litigation, the amount of money required to defend intellectual property protected by common law rights would be astronomical,” Magaula said.

“You need mountains of evidence to give to the court,” she explained. But having registered a trademark or having  a patent can strengthen your case, she said.

We’re going to wrap it up there, although you’ll find further advice with regards patents and trademarks in that Fin24 article.

Now we wait until midday to see if Ian Moir and Woolies contact Shannon. If not, we expect her to spill some spicy beans.

UPDATE – IT APPEARS SHANNON AND WOOLWORTHS HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT:

Let’s hope this leads to meaningful dialogue going forward, which benefits South African SMEs in the long run.

[sources:powerfm&fin24]