Global companies who plan to diversify or launch their cannabis products have been advised to identify their consumer base, create their brand and file a trademark ahead of the competition.

“The opportunities to create new brands for cannabis-based products are endless, and so too should the requisite protection of intellectual property protection be in place,” said Donvay Wegierski, director at Werksmans Attorneys.

There’s a growing movement worldwide to legalise the use of cannabis, which has sparked a strong commercial interest from companies selling cannabis-based products.

The Constitutional Court in September legalised the possession and use of marijuana by adults for personal consumption in South Africa in their own residences. The dealing or distribution of marijuana is still illegal.

In South Africa, people can register their trademarks with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission or make use of a trademark attorney.

Wegierski advised people registering a trademark that it should not be contrary to public policy or be offensive, and it should not be descriptive of the kind of quality or other characteristics of the product.

And internationally, competition is fierce.

“Earlier this year nearly 1 700 trade mark applications and registrations could be found on the Canadian Trade Mark Database covering cannabis,” said Wegierski.

Wegierski expects the requirement for “use” to secure trade mark registration to be removed from Canadian Trade Mark Law in June 2019, which will encourage even more trade mark filings.

This week, JSE-listed beverages group Distell agreed to distribute hemp-infused beer, Poison City. Brewing has seen demand exceed capacity since it started retailing the lager in major liquor outlets in September.

Hemp is a variety of the cannabis plant which contains no mind-altering substances.

In his response,Ikaros Africa’s shareholder Chauncy Mopho Jere, whose company has  put aside million dollar for health hemp lucrative investment in Malawi, the call is timely looking at opportunities the industry lies on

Mopho Jere says his  company will invest over time somewhere in the region of 100 million USD through FDI

The company has already invested MK380 million in its trial stage of health Canabis at Chitala research state in the Lakeshore district of Salima and Bvumbwe in Thyolo

However if we utilize the contract farming model. Then we will create thousands of jobs with direct and indirect benefits to thousands of Malawians. Currently the cbd industry is  US$20 billion a year

“We intend to employ about 200 people directly. However ancillary industry job creation and up-skilling of the youth is essential as an industry value chain does not function in isolation it requires specialized services.  This will be a large number of new jobs and skills and companies to service the industry,”  assures Mopho Jere