Authors, 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 creative works, including books, songs, paintings...
Read MoreCopyright Blind Spot
INTRODUCTION Blind people are at a distinct disadvantage and face serious challenges when it comes to reading the written word. They need written text to be rendered in braille or in electronic form to permit a text-to-speech functionality with easy navigation across the text. Unfortunately, such adapted-for-disability-utility versions of written text are in short supply or are not always optimally operational. The international community, and more particularly the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), has embraced this plight of the blind. WIPO has fathered the Marrakesh Treaty to...
Read MoreRepresentations Regarding Possible Amendments to Section 25 of The Constitution
Introduction The South African Constitutional Court has ruled that the term “property” in the Section 25 of the Constitution covers not only land but also all forms of property including intellectual property (i.e. patents, designs, copyright trade marks and the like). In the event that, as proposed, this section is amended to allow property to be expropriated without compensation, it will mean that this principle will apply also to intellectual property. All and any patents, copyrights and trade marks etc., whether owned by South African or foreign nationals, will be subject to this...
Read MoreCopyleft Amendments to Copyright
So called “state capture” is a concept which currently dominates current public discourse. It represents the usurpation and domination of the powers of the state by the Zuma/Gupta alliance. State capture, albeit in a different form, has occurred in the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in regard to its custodianship of intellectual property. Beginning in the late nineteen nineties, with the advent to power in Trade and Industry of Minster Alex Erwin, a “third force” has assumed control of this important area of the law with untoward consequences to its well-being. The third force...
Read MoreIs Plagiarism Unlawful?
INTRODUCTION “Plagiarism” is a much misunderstood and misused term in common parlance. In layman’s terms it is generally used to convey the notion of copying or reproducing the work of another in a clandestine manner. Although it is not specifically mentioned or perhaps even considered as an element, by implication it entails such misuse being without permission. It is often used as a synonym for, or in lieu of, “copyright infringement” and it is generally thought to amount to the same thing. Supposedly, being copyright infringement by another name, it would naturally be unlawful....
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