Copyright Amendment Bill slated

FILM organisations have slammed Parliament for passing the Copyright Amendment Bill which, if passed into law, will allow the use of materials with greater freedom.

The National Council of

Provinces (NCOP) passed the bill this week and sent it to President Cyril Ramaphosa to sign into law.

The Coalition for Effective Copyright in SA objected to the bill, saying it contradicts the World Intellectual Property Organisation Copyright Treaty which the house adopted.

Spokesperson Collen Dlamini said: “The Copyright Amendment

Bill erodes local intellectual property rights, allowing international companies to republish the creative work of authors and artists without needing to compensate them fair royalties or usage fees to enable them to earn a living.”

The Independent Black Filmmakers Collective also objected to the bill, saying it would leave artists vulnerable. Themba Dube appealed to Ramaphosa to not sign the bill. “This is a new way of recolonising us from a digital standpoint, the more you think things are changing the more they stay the same.

“This is not a legacy he wants to enter his term of office with. We are already seeing that our government is not doing enough to support artists,” said Dube.

Opposition parties have also voiced their disapproval.

The ANC used its majority in the NCOP to adopt the bill and the DA objected, saying it was poorly drafted and might not pass constitutional muster. Freedom Front Plus MP Anton De Waal said it voted against the bill because it does not protect artists and that it is against international copyright law.

“We believe that the amendments made will reduce the rights of all artists to protect their works. The definition of fair use is not known in our law; it will create more confusion and it will allow people to use other people’s work without consent.

“The meaning of fair use in our law will only be ascertained by going to court, which artists can’t afford. Many artists in the country are poor.

“They will have to wait until someone who has the means takes the law to court,” said De Waal.