Hello I just received an message from Tpretorius (https://en.numista.com/echanges/profil.php?id=530682)
I will post the message here and also the reply:
"Dear Sirs
ROMANIA: Copyright Infringement by sag in respect of the Springbok and Kruger Head works owned by the South African Reserve Bank; Trademark infringement of well-known and/or unregistered trademarks and registered design infringement by sag
WORLDWIDE: Several Trade Mark Registrations for KRUGERRAND in the name of the South African Reserve Bank - Trade mark infringement by sag
I am an executive and trade mark attorney from Edward Nathan Sonnenburgs Inc, located in South Africa, and act on behalf of the South African Reserve Bank (“SARB” or “our client”).
Our client is a bank established as the central bank of South Africa in terms of section 223 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and is governed by the South African Reserve Bank Act, No. 90 of 1989.
The objective of this message is to alert you to the SARB’s pressing concerns pertaining to the advertisement and/or sale and/or manufacture and distribution by you of coins featuring the SARB’s trade marks, artistic works in which it owns copyright and registered designs.
Our client’s KRUGERRAND trade mark rights
Our client is the proprietor of the trade marks KRUGERRAND, Kruger Head device and Springbok device, and has secured registrations for these trade marks around the world, including in the European Union (Romania is a member country where you appear to be based), registered in class 14 in respect of all kinds of coins, including collectable and commemorative coins. Representations of these trademarks are depicted below:
The SARB’s trade mark registrations are valid, binding and in force on the EU Trade Mark Register.
Our client has made extensive use of the KRUGERRAND trade marks in relation to various goods and services, particularly the minting and sale of gold and silver coins, branded with the KRUGERRAND trade marks, which coins comprise legal tender in South Africa.
Our client has the sole authority to sell its coins branded with the KRUGERRAND trade marks and to authorise others to do the same. The sale of KRUGERRAND coins is tightly regulated, given its status as legal tender in South Africa. Genuine KRUGERRAND coins, as sold by our client, are made of genuine gold or silver and therefore sell for a value commensurate to the price of gold and silver at the time of the sale.
Our client has used the KRUGERRAND trade marks to such an extent that it has acquired a substantial and favourable reputation in these trade marks, with accompanying goodwill, both of which form an extremely valuable and important part of our client’s business. Arising from our client’s use of these trade marks, it also has rights at common law in the KRUGERRAND trade marks, in countries that recognise common law rights. Such rights are in addition to the statutory rights which it holds in the KRUGERRAND trade marks by virtue of the registrations for these trade marks.
The SARB’S KRUGERRAND trade marks comprise well-known trade marks and are afforded protection as such in terms of relevant statute and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, irrespective of their registration. The SARB submits that the renown of the KRUGERRAND trade marks cannot be disputed or denied.
Our client’s KRUGERRAND trade marks are distinctive of, and synonymous with it.
The SARB is the owner of the copyright subsisting in the Springbok device and in the Kruger Head device (both depicted aboce), and both of which comprise artistic works in terms of copyright law (hereinafter referred to as either “the Springbok work” or “the Kruger Head work” as the case may be). Romania is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
The trade mark rights that the SARB holds in the KRUGERRAND trade marks and the copyright subsisting in the artistic works entitle it to enforce such rights against third parties, such as yourself, who without its permission or authorisation, adopt and use its trade marks or similar trade marks, in the course of their trade, and reproduce its artistic work/s and/or export, sell or distribute goods that feature substantial reproductions of the SARB’s artistic works.
Our client holds design registrations in several countries around the world for the typeface of the representation of the KRUGERRAND trade mark on our client’s coins.
Our client has recently ascertained that you are, without its permission, advertising for sale, distributing and/or selling a coin(s) that features (i) one or more of the KRUGERRAND trade marks, (ii) the set of the typeface protected by its design registrations (iii) that are gold-plated or replica coins (iv) that do not originate from our client, or an authorised agent and/or (v) purportedly originate from different countries. These coins appear on your Numista profile (“the infringing coins”).
The SARB has not authorised the manufacture and/or distribution of the infringing coins. In fact, in so far as the SARB’s range of KRUGERRAND coins is concerned, it never manufactures/ advertises and sells coins that feature emblems of different countries or that are gold-plated and not genuine gold or silver. Our client’s range of KRUGERRAND coins only ever features the KRUGERRAND trade marks, depicted in the same colour as the colour of the precious metal from which the coin is made.
In the circumstances, your actions contravene the following laws:
- Copyright infringement;
- Trade mark infringement; and
- Registered design infringement.
.
In order to avoid formal proceedings from being instituted against you by our client, we hereby request your cooperation in complying with the demands below:
- immediately cease all use, in the course of your trade, including the advertisement and/or sale and/or distribution, of the infringing coins; and
- remove the infringing coins from your Numista profile and from any other websites / accounts administered and controlled by you, as well as, all social media platforms administered and controlled by you including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Telegram and from all advertising under your control;
We await your confirmation by close of business on Wednesday, 21 January 2026.
Our client’s rights are reserved.
Yours faithfully
Tammi"
I replied to him:
"Hello dear Tammi,
Thank you for your message, but please do offer more context to it in first place please provide the coin reference that you are mentioning in this Copyright Infringement email.
Second, please do a research on what Numista is. This is not a site for sale or distributing coins but a simple online catalog for coin collectors and we do not mint, use or distribute any trademark products.
Third, ''remove the infringing coins from your Numista profile and from any other websites" there is no law that prevents me to have my personal profile on Numista updated with coins that I poses.
Forth, please do tell me what actions are causing : Copyright infringement;
- Trade mark infringement; and
- Registered design infringement.
Please let me know what exactly is it that you want from me in relation with what coins and what actions are you referring to.
Thank you!"
However I still fail to see how owning a coin and mark it on Numista site comes under the Copyright Infringement law.
Can you please help understand this and maybe help avoid such issues in the future?
Thank you!
