An epistle of the Anton Mostert Chair of Intellectual Property
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CIP written submissions on additional definitions and clauses in the Copyright Amendment Bill 2017
Following its comprehensive review and comments submitted on the various versions of the Copyright Amendment Bill (2015, 2017, 2018 and 2021), the Chair of IP law has again submitted comments specifically pertaining to additional definitions and clauses in the Amendment Bill. The full text of the Chair’s comments is available for download here. Download comments Follow Share on...
read moreIP Public Lecture 2021 – IP Law in the Light of the Information Society
THIS EVENT IS NOW CLOSED Watch the video of the lecture below. The 2021 annual intellectual property law public lecture, presented by the Anton Mostert Chair of Intellectual Property Law at the Faculty of Law, will address IP law in the light of the information society. The lecture will be delivered by Prof. Dr. Thomas Hoeren from the Institute on Information, Telecommunications and Media Law (ITM) at the University of Münster, on the topic Information wants to be Free. The lecture takes place on 7 October at the Faculty of Law,...
read moreAmending Copyright – Footing the Bill
The Copyright Amendment Bill (CAB) was passed by Parliament despite widespread criticism and condemnation by informed commentators. The CAB was rejected by President Ramaphosa and referred back to Parliament with the direction that it be reviewed and amended where necessary. His objections were mainly centered around the problem that it contained provisions that are in conflict with the South African Constitution and more particularly the Bill of Rights contained in Chapter 2, sections 7 – 39. ‘FOOTING THE BILL’ The term or...
read moreCIP written submissions on copyright exceptions in the Copyright Amendment Bill 2017
Following its comprehensive review and comments submitted on the 2015, 2017 and 2018 versions of the Copyright Amendment Bill, the Chair of IP law has again submitted comments specifically pertaining to the copyright exceptions in the Amendment Bill. The full text of the Chair’s comments is available for download here. Download comments Follow Share on...
read moreThe Use Fair
We have all been to fun fairs. A fun fair is a facility set up in a vacant space, usually of temporary duration, devoted to providing entertainment to those who frequent it. There are ferris wheels, merry-go-rounds, helter skelters, tunnels of horrors, dodgem cars, roller coasters and the like. There are also stalls of one form or another where prizes can be won, such as coconut shies where wooden balls are thrown at coconuts, or other targets like effigies of people, with a view to knocking them off their pedestals. Handouts of free gifts are...
read moreCopyright Dark Forces
Copyright is a system which grants creatives (i.e. writers, artists, composers, film makers, record producers and the like) certain exclusive rights to their works which enable those works to be commercially exploited for financial reward. Creatives are thus empowered to make a living out of their works, which in turn is an incentive to make more and better works. In general, the modus operandi is for copyright owners to grant licences for the use of their works, subject to the payment of royalties. They have complete freedom and flexibility...
read moreReconstituting the Copyright Amendment Bill
Every golfer has had the experience of duffing a shot – driving the ball straight into a water hazard – and, having incurred a penalty stroke, hitting a perfect drive straight down the middle of the fairway at the second attempt. This has given rise to the golfing adage: Confucius say hit second shot first! In similar vein, Parliament has produced a horrendous piece of copyright legislation, but has now been given a second chance to get it right, without incurring any penalty. Will it take up and optimize this break, that is the question?...
read moreAuthors, you’ve got a friend?
INTRODUCTION The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary gives the following as a meaning of the word “friend”: “A person who wishes another, a cause etc., well; a sympathizer, helper, patron…” Carole King, the famous songwriter/performer, gives a good description of the characteristics of a friend in her iconic song, You’ve Got a Friend. The drafters of the Copyright Amendment Bill (“CAB”), which is currently before Parliament, purport to be the friend of creative persons, referred to as “authors” in respect of all kinds of...
read moreWaiver of IP Rights in the Eye of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Dr Madelein Kleyn (Director Technolgy Transfer, Innovus and fellow of the Anton Mostert Chair of Intellectual Property Law) has written a piece contemplating whether it is possible to waive IP rights in view of the minimum requirements set by the TRIPS Agreement for the protection of IP Rights, in light of the patent waiver controversy regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Read the full article here. Follow Share on Tumblr
read moreCommentary: Draft Regulations to the Geoscience Act 100 of 1993
Innovus, the Technology Transfer Office of Stellenbosch and the Stellenbosch University Department of Earth Science, and the Department of Geotechnical Engineering have submitted their commentary on the Draft Regulations to the Geoscience Act 100 of 1993, published for comment on 3 March 2021. These comments were compiled by Prof Alexander Kisters (Head of Department: Department of Earth Science), Prof Peter Day (Adjunct Professor: Geotechnical Engineering), Andre Pelser (Attorney at Roux De Villiers & Associates), and Dr Madelein Kleyn...
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