Category US Domestic Legislation

Are Fair Use Provisions in the SA Copyright Amendment Bill Far Broader than in the US?

Opponents of the South African Copyright Amendment Bill claim that the fair use provisions in Section 12 of the Bill far exceed those of the U.S. They state that if the Bill is signed by the President, it will be the only country in the world with such extensive rights for users. They warn, as part of their ongoing media campaigns and at seminars, that this will be ‘extremely catastrophic’ for authors and publishers in South Africa, and that foreign investors will no longer invest in the creative industries in South Africa. This is an exaggeration and fear-mongering at its best.

Does the South African Copyright Bill Promote Plagiarism?

Concerns have been raised in the media by some opponents of the Copyright Amendment Bill that Section 12B(1)(a) will promote plagiarism. They have suggested that researchers' works will not be cited, and that the important role that citations play in academic scholarship will be undermined. This viewpoint is myopic and incorrect.

Decolonising Copyright: Building Our Creative and Information Economy

[AfroChic] On the 7th of August 2019 RecreateSA convened a seminar in association with the South African Guild of Actors, the University of the Witwatersrand’s Library, Blind SA, the University of Cape Town’s IP Unit, the South African Democratic Teacher’s Union, Washington College of Law’s Programme on Information Justice and Intellectual Property and the University of the Witwatersrand’s Institute for Social and Economic Research. The seminar was entitled “Decolonising Copyright: Building our Creative and Information Economy” and took place in the Senate Room of the Solomon Mahlangu Building.

Copyright Week 2019 Johannesburg : Decolonising Copyright, Building our Creative & Information Economy

This morning, Recreate ZA, in partnership with Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, Wits Library, Wiser and the UCT IP Unit hosted an event titled: Decolonising Copyright, Building our Creative & Information Economy. Speakers included Ruth L. Okediji, Ben Cashdan, Justice Zak Yacoob, Daniel Mashao, and Mugwena Maluleke.

Brazil Seeks Comments on Copyright Reform

On June 28th, the Brazilian Government through the Special Secretariat of Culture opened a new public consultation on the need to reform and update the 1998 Copyright Act. The main goal is stated to be to “deal with the new technologies and new business models that have emerged over this period”. Accordingly, streaming services, content upload and sharing platforms, artificial intelligence and so on are on the list.

The Netherlands Leads Way With Implementation of the New Educational Exception

Just one month after the new Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive went into force, the Dutch government has shared their proposal for its implementation, through an amendment of their existing copyright law. The proposal is currently in public consultation phase. We would like to provide here an overview of the Dutch proposal to implement locally the new EU educational exception (article 5 in the final version of the Directive). This is the beginning of our effort to track how countries across Europe will implement, over the coming two years, this mandatory exception to copyright for educational purposes.

Statement of the South African Youth Council on the Copyright Amendment Bill

[South African Youth Council] ... It is time we protect our future by ensuring that where educational literature and or material is concerned no archaic pieces of legislation should be an impediment for the acquisition of knowledge. In the same breath we must ensure that our heritage, the works of our forebears, are given the necessary stature and protection. This can only happen if President Cyril Ramaphosa assents to the Copy Rights Amendment Bill.

South Africa’s Copyright Amendment Bill: Its Genesis and Passage through Parliament

[Denise Rosemary Nicholson] The reform of copyright law in South Africa, particularly for the library and educational sectors, has been a long and bumpy road since 1998. Our copyright law is 41 years old - and broken! The exceptions for education, research, and libraries and archives have not been amended since 1978. The Act has no provisions for people with disabilities, nor provisions for galleries and museums. Being so old, it obviously does not address the digital world. "Fair dealing" in Section 12 of the Act is outdated, limited and not 'future-proof'.

Senate HELP Committee Seeks Comments on Lower Health Care Costs Act of 2019

The leaders of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions have released draft healthcare legislation for comment. The Lower Health Care Costs Act of 2019 contains five titles, one of which is titled Lowering the Costs of Prescription Drugs. This title contains sections meant to speed the introduction of biosimilars to the the market; to reduce abuses of citizen petitions to block generic entry; to enhance the transparency of IP for biologics through changes to the Purple Book; and to "modernize" the Orange Book.

Search Site Blocking – Hiding in Plain Sight

I am spending this week in Lisbon for the Creative Commons 2019 Global Summit. It has been a great few days of conversation, sharing, meeting new friends and exchanging ideas with friends new and old. A lot of the focus in the copyright discussions has been on the enforcement provisions in the recently passed EU Directive. However it, has been clear during many of my discussions that a recent Australian reform expanding the site blocking regime to search engines may have “slipped through to the keeper” (Australian slang for ‘we missed that one’, or ‘that one fell through the cracks’!).

South Africa Creators, Access Advocates Rally To Support Copyright Bill And Dispel Myths

A broad coalition of creators and access to knowledge advocates have petitioned the President of South Africa to urgently sign the Copyright Amendment Bill before him. The petition (https://www.re-createza.org/) is endorsed by organizations representing over half a million South African creators, teachers, people with disabilities and others who rely on copyright access and protection. It calls for the President to sign the Bill “without delay,” including to enact into copyright law “a transformative vision for a more equal and just society.” The petition is the latest step in a decades long campaign to enact development- focused copyright reform that is sensitive to South Africa’s particular social and economic context.

Joint Civil Society Letter to the President of South Africa on the Copyright Amendment Bill

[ReCreate South Africa] We welcome the passing of the Copyright Amendment Bill by both the National Assembly and the National Council of the Provinces and encourage you to sign the Bill into law without delay. The Bill has undergone a lengthy consultative process at the various stages and is a good reflection of a transformative vision for a more equal and just society. The Bill also brings South African legislation in line with international treaties.