Reconstituting 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? Time will tell. THE ESSENCE OF COPYRIGHT Copyright...
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 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 MoreMasterclass: Prof Dean discuss Netflix’s “The Lion’s Share”
Prof Dean was the guest on Azania Mosaka’s Masterclass series on Radio 702 to discuss the real story of Mbube, recently retold in the Netflix docu-drama “The Lion’s Share”. Listen to the podcast of the masterclass here (click the images below). If you are not yet familiar with the basic facts, below is a short synopsis of the events, which will soon be published in Managing Intellectual Property. Listen on Radio 702 podcasts Listen on Apple podcasts MIGHTY MOUSE AND THE SOMNOLENT LION’S SHARE Solomon Linda from Zululand composed an ethnic...
Read MoreAwakening the Lion in the Jungle
“Your mandate is to find a way, and to do everything possible, to enable the children of Solomon Linda, the composer of a song called MBUBE, which later evolved into the international hit song THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT, to derive some financial benefit from the considerable revenues generated by the popularity of THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT. You should recommend any reasonable course of action which you can conceive and we are willing to finance it even if it means conducting litigation abroad.” This instruction came from representatives of Gallo (Africa) Limited, the South African...
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