The Rooibos Rush
South Africa is no stranger to the fever that accompanies the discovery of gemstones or precious metal in a particular region. Indeed, for decades the mineral riches of our nation were legendary across the world and the object of several battles for imperial, colonial or feudal control over the diamond, gold, platinum and coal fields of South Africa. As a testament to this, the foothills of Table Mountain is home to the Rhodes Memorial dedicated to the fervently imperialist, English mining magnate Cecil John Rhodes, former Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, founder of De Beers Consolidated...
Read MoreThe Winning Choice For Traditional Culture
Note: Seldom will the VineOracle descend into the dust of the arena, even when the winner is known to her in advance. But on this occasion she considers it necessary to expound upon the recent developments in IP legal development for the sake of those who care to learn. Here is her report on the match between two opposing, albeit ill-matched, forces seeking to use the intellectual property law system for the protection of traditional knowledge. In 2004 the Cabinet approved the adoption of a policy on Indigenous Knowledge Systems, known as the IKS Policy. Pursuant to this the...
Read MoreHappy Birthday in Wonderland
Warner/Chappel Music, a music publishing company in the United States of America, claims and exerts copyright in the ubiquitous song “Happy Birthday to You”. It requires that royalty payments should be made to it each and every time this song is sung or used in public. This is a startling proposition as most people probably assume that the song is in the public domain and is free for use by all. An American documentary film maker agrees and is objecting to having to pay royalties to include the song in a film. It has consequently commenced legal proceedings before the US court seeking a...
Read MoreLetting the Copyright Cat Out Of The Bag
The almost endless capacity of government to waste valuable resources by embarking on half-baked, and socially costly, ideas never ceases to amaze me. What makes the situation deeply troubling (and, not just a little, ironic) is that they sometimes spend money employing consultants to tell them that they are wasting money on these enterprises. If that were the extent of government’s failure in relation to its policy shortcomings, I could, perhaps, shrug my shoulders and attempt to be philosophical about such matters. However, when government then proceeds to ignore (and, possibly,...
Read MoreHOT OFF THE PRESSES – Sui Generis TK Bill Published In The Gazette
Roll up and hear the good news! Today the new sui generis Protection of Traditional Knowledge Bill was published in the Government Gazette, signalling a major step toward the protection of traditional knowledge (TK) in South Africa. Full text of the Bill available here. This Bill is based on the Protection of TK Bill drafted by the incumbent of the Stellenbosch Chair of IP Law (CIP), Prof Owen Dean, and was tabled in Parliament by Dr Wilmot James earlier this year amid widespread and serious criticism of Government’s current attempt at protecting TK through the Intellectual Property Laws...
Read MoreTrampling Tradition – A Call For Support
The Stellenbosch Chair of Intellectual Property (CIP) has repeatedly, thoroughly and honestly expressed its views on the proposed Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill (the Traditional Knowledge Bill) in no uncertain terms. Its labours have included extensive research on the consequences for our IP regime if it was to become law, the financial, legal and practical difficulties our legal system will face in its wake and the dismissive attitude of the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry toward every legitimate concern from the public. The incumbent Chair even went so far as to attend...
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