The legal framework
The Copyright Act 1978 protects works for the author's life plus fifty years and provides narrow fair dealing exceptions. A Copyright Amendment Bill proposing a fair use clause, exceptions for education and people with disabilities, and resale royalties for artists has been through an unusually long legislative process, including referral back to Parliament on constitutional grounds, and is not in force.
Key points
| Statute | Copyright Act 1978 |
|---|---|
| Term | Life plus 50 years for most works |
| Fair dealing | Narrow: research, private study, criticism, review, reporting |
| No registration | Except for cinematograph films, which have a registration system |
| Amendment Bill | Long-running reform proposing fair use; not in force |
| Enforcement | High Court, and the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission for films |
| Film registration | Cinematograph films have their own registration system |
| Needletime | Performers' rights in sound recordings generate separate royalties |
| Copyright Tribunal | Hears disputes over licensing terms |
In practice
- Assume everything you find online is protected: absence of a copyright notice means nothing.
- Look for an explicit licence — Creative Commons, a stock licence, a written permission — and keep a copy of it.
- Credit alone is not a defence: attribution does not replace permission.
- For anything commercial, get permission in writing and keep it for as long as you use the work.
- Register films with CIPC: it is the only registration system available.
Where to go
- Companies and Intellectual Property Commission.
- DALRO, SAMRO and other societies.
- Copyright Tribunal for licensing disputes.
Worth knowing
Do not rely on the Amendment Bill: its provisions have been widely reported as if already law, but the 1978 Act and its narrow exceptions continue to apply. Do not rely on the Amendment Bill. Its fair use clause has been widely reported as law, but the 1978 Act and its narrow exceptions still apply.
Official sources and links
- gov.za — official government portal
- South African Human Rights Commission — constitutional rights body