Posts Tagged "Parliament"

ANC Legal Research Group on Copyright Amendment Bill

Posted on Oct 15, 2017

ANC 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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The Winning Choice For Traditional Culture

Posted on Jul 20, 2013

The Winning Choice For Traditional Culture

Note: Seldom will the VineOracle descend into the dust of the arena, even when the winner is known to her in advance. But on this occasion she considers it necessary to expound upon the recent developments in IP legal development for the sake of those who care to learn. Here is her report on the match between two opposing, albeit ill-matched, forces seeking to use the intellectual property law system for the protection of traditional knowledge. In 2004 the Cabinet  approved the adoption of a policy on Indigenous Knowledge Systems, known as the IKS Policy. Pursuant to this the...

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Letting the Copyright Cat Out Of The Bag

Posted on Apr 22, 2013

Letting the Copyright Cat Out Of The Bag

The almost endless capacity of government to waste valuable resources by embarking on half-baked, and socially costly, ideas never ceases to amaze me.  What makes the situation deeply troubling (and, not just a little, ironic) is that they sometimes spend money employing consultants to tell them that they are wasting money on these enterprises.  If that were the extent of government’s failure in relation to its policy shortcomings, I could, perhaps, shrug my shoulders and attempt to be philosophical about such matters.  However, when government then proceeds to ignore (and, possibly,...

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HOT OFF THE PRESSES – Sui Generis TK Bill Published In The Gazette

Posted on Apr 9, 2013

HOT OFF THE PRESSES – Sui Generis TK Bill Published In The Gazette

Roll up and hear the good news! Today the new sui generis Protection of Traditional Knowledge Bill was published in the Government Gazette, signalling a major step toward the protection of traditional knowledge (TK) in South Africa. Full text of the Bill available here.  This Bill is based on the Protection of TK Bill drafted by the incumbent of the Stellenbosch Chair of IP Law (CIP), Prof Owen Dean, and was tabled in Parliament by Dr Wilmot James earlier this year amid widespread and serious criticism of Government’s current attempt at protecting TK through the Intellectual Property Laws...

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A New Tradition In Legislation

Posted on Sep 28, 2012

A New Tradition In Legislation

The South African government has created a new tradition in drafting and processing legislation through Parliament.  This tradition manifests itself in the drafting of half-baked legislation with little or no regard to the provisions of the Constitution and then fighting a huge public outcry against the legislation on the grounds that it is unconstitutional. In some instances the government  then concedes that aspects of the legislation are unconstitutional and it seeks to undertake the revision of that legislation on the floor of Parliament in an attempt to circumvent the claims of...

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