Commissioned works – with special reference to literary works
There is a common misconception concerning copyright works, namely, that the person who has commissioned the creation of a copyright work also owns the copyright in such a work. This article will illustrate that, in the absence of an express contractual arrangement, it is only in a limited number of situations that the commissioner of a copyright work will also be the copyright owner of such a work. Copyright protection is provided for by the Copyright Act 98 of 1978 (“the Act”). The Act determines what types of works are protected, and, in the absence of any contractual arrangement,...
Read MoreThe Plagiarist on Trial – a legal perspective on plagiarism
In an attempt to circumscribe the range of “nefarious conduct”[1] that may amount to plagiarism, many resort to a discourse on ethical standards,[2] literary technique,[3] institutional values, citation methodology, copyright infringement[4] or theft.[5] Although these discussions, at least in part, approach a grasp on what plagiarism means, none are acceptable from a legal perspective. Moreover, while reliance is placed on moral considerations instead of the law, the intolerable risk remains that cases of plagiarism will be adulterated by the myriad of personal details, factual...
Read MoreFull Stop Ahead: Public interest in blocking digital content
It makes for the perfect ideological storm when IP law and ICT law meet and the right to freedom of expression stands in the way. Capitalist and socialist, activist and pacifist, pragmatist and idealist: differing legal experts abound in the battle for, or against, IP rights in the digital environment. Two recent developments which illustrate this tension, might serve South Africans well, if observed with care. First, the recent ruling of the General Court of the European Union in Constantin Film Produktion GmbH v EUIPO[i] made it clear that aural vulgarity could be a bar to the registration...
Read MoreCopyright in taste? CJEU to decide.
“Whether copyright protection protects tastes has been stirring up emotions in European legal circles for some time. Some say that such protection would be contrary to the idea-expression dichotomy, the notion that ideas and principles underlying any element of a work can never be protected. Others argue protecting taste would negatively affect free competition, among other things. Allowing taste copyright would lead to creative stagnation because when chefs invent new dishes and thus tastes, they always build on already existing dishes.” So writes Prof Charles Gielen, Research...
Read MoreANC Legal Research Group on Copyright Amendment Bill
The legal research group of the African National Congress held a workshop in Sandton on 14 October 2017 to discuss the Copyright Amendment Bill 2017 with input from a panel of experts and questions from the attendees. The panel included the current Chair of Intellectual Property Law at Stellenbosch University, Prof Sadulla Karjiker, and the founding Chair and current Fellow of IP Law at Stellenbosch University, Prof Owen Dean. A detailed, diverse and open discussion followed the panel presentations on inter alia the application of copyright law in the African context, the protection of...
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