Unscrambling the Curate’s Egg – Full Review of the Copyright Amendment Bill
In an earlier article posted on this blog, the Copyright Amendment Bill published in Government Gazette no. 39028, dated 27 July, 2915, was described as a curate’s egg, i.e something that is fundamentally bad but in principle has some good aspects. The view was expressed that the Bill could not be cured by piecemeal amendments, and that it was necessary to go back to the beginning, decide rationally what is actually wanted and warranted, and then re-draft it afresh. We stand by and reiterate this view. Nevertheless, in the interests of ultimately having a workable and reasonable piece of...
Read MoreDTI Dishes Up A Hopeless Curate’s Egg
The figure of speech used in describing something as a “curate’s egg” derives from a cartoon by G du Maurier published in the British humorous magazine Punch in November 1895. It depicts a meek curate, faced with a bad egg at the Bishop’s breakfast table, commenting that it is partly good. In other words it is something that is thoroughly bad but is discreetly said to be partly good.[1] “The term relies on an objective analysis and intuitive understanding of the depicted scenario: a self-contained egg cannot be both partially spoiled and partially unspoiled. To pretend to find...
Read MoreUnveiling The Wolf
The erstwhile Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill (“IPLAB”), generally known as the “Traditional Knowledge Bill”, became an Act when it was published in the Government Gazette as having been assented to by President Jacob Zuma on 10 December 2013. This despite vociferous objection from the IP community and other informed sources. (Read more about IPLAB here, here, here and here.) The general consensus was that the Bill was fundamentally flawed and an abominable piece of legislation. Issue was not taken with the notion that traditional knowledge requires improved protection, but...
Read MoreGovernment’s reflections on the world of Intellectual Property
INTRODUCTION Have you ever basked in the warm sunshine of a glorious summer’s day, in daydreaming mode, and allowed your mind simply to wander at random? You start with a thought, you turn it over in your mind, and then a point is reached where you go off at a tangent and muse over some largely unrelated thought, only to be diverted in yet another direction. Eventually you may go the full circle and come back momentarily to the point of departure, before heading off again elsewhere. Daydreaming can be a very pleasant experience and it has the beauty that you do not have to make any...
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