On Thursday the 29th of February, the National Council of Provinces voted in favour of the highly anticipated Copyright Amendment Bill. The Bill has been in the works for the past seven years, facing constant challenges on constitutional and substantial bases. The end of a long road appears to be near, with just one final step ahead.
The reason for the contention surrounding this Bill is that its intentions are unclear and it's provisions seemingly contradictory. On the one end there are bodies, like Blind SA, who are fervently in support of the Bill being passed. Not only will the new Bill provide necessary benefits for creatives through new royalties and licensing provisions, but it also proposes to make works more accessible for persons with disabilities. In light of South Africa's Consitutional dispensation, this is an important development. On the other end industry professionals believe the Bill hides behind these provisions to appear to be a progressive piece of legislation, when the introduction of general exceptions to copyright would actually disadvantage the artists. This raises concerns as to whether South Africa is acting in line with its international obligations.
It is no doubt that South Africa's copyright law is in dire need of a revamp, its approach the law being outdated and its provision not extensive enough to achieve its aims. The difficulty lies in the fact that the Bill does propose to bring very important and necessary changes for artists. However, it will also make copyright more difficult to enforce and possibly facilitate copyright infringement. What's more, the Bill echoes the US approach to copyright which suggest movement away from our British common law roots. It will be interesting to see how the judiciary will reconcile these two approaches considering South African cases have been historically supplemented by UK law.
This raises the question: is there an intention to South Atricanise copyright law, or are we trading one parent system for another?
The concerns with the Bill are complex and requires a deep dive into a very niche field of law. The protection of copyright has an economic rationale, but this is also interwoven with important public policy considerations which centre around protecting the artist.
What do you think about the CAB?
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