Alliance Property Group (Pty) Ltd v Alliance Group Ltd and Another

The appellant, Alliance Property Group (Pty) Ltd, had traded since 1997 in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape providing a wide range of commercial and industrial property services under its name and trading style. The first respondent, after a series of name changes and a rebranding exercise, adopted the name Alliance Group Ltd in 2006, and the second respondent traded as Alliance Group from 2007. Both respondents operated in overlapping geographic areas and expanded their services beyond auctions into broader property services. The appellant alleged that the respondents’ use of the name Alliance Group constituted passing-off by misrepresenting their services as those of, or associated with, the appellant. The KwaZulu-Natal High Court dismissed the application, finding that the appellant had failed to prove reputation and misrepresentation. The appellant appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was upheld with costs. The High Court’s order was set aside and substituted with an order interdicting the respondents, in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, from passing-off their property services as those of or associated with the appellant by using the name, mark or trading style ‘Alliance Group’ without clearly distinguishing their services. The respondents were ordered jointly and severally to pay the appellant’s costs, including the costs of two counsel.

The case is an important Supreme Court of Appeal authority on passing-off in South African law, particularly on proof of reputation and secondary meaning in a descriptive trade name. It also clarifies the application of section 21A of the Supreme Court Act, emphasising that an appeal will not be dismissed as moot where a live dispute remains due to the absence of binding undertakings.