infoJustice

On October 28, the South African National Assembly debated the Intellectual Property Laws Amendments Bill, which aims to protect indigenous knowledge.  Speaking before the House, Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies said “this IP Bill seeks to amend the Performers Protection Act, Trade Marks Act, Copyright Act and Designs Act. The main thrust of the Bill is that no registration of IP that is based on IK will be able to be effected without 1) mandatory disclosure of the IK element, 2) prior informed consent by IK owners, and 3) without a benefit sharing arrangement entered into with the relevant IK owners.” 

The bill also establishes a system for dispute resolutions, and sets up “appropriate structures to facilitate the implementation of the IP Bill when it comes into legal force.

The opposition Democratic Alliance opposes the bill.  It published a statement stating that it supports the goal of protecting indigenous knowledge, but it finds flaws in the bill: “The existing laws require properties that are simply not found in indigenous knowledge. For example, copyright protection is always for a limited period, works have to be original, have an identifiable author, and be recorded in some way.”  Its statement also raised procedural objections to how the bill has proceeded – the bill has not been subject to hearings since last year, but has been “fundamentally reworked” since the hearings.

Legislation:

• Intellectual Property Laws Amendments Bill, 2011.

Sources:

• Speech delivered by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, MP, in the National Assembly on the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill. October 27, 2011.
• Democratic Alliance Press Release. Intellectual Property Amendment Bill – Indigenous Knowledge Simply Won’t Be Protected By This Law. October 28, 2011.