Blind SA copyright case all set to be heard in the Concourt

THE Constitutional Court is set to hear a landmark case in which activists are urging it to confirm that the Copyright Act is unconstitutional for limiting access to books in accessible formats for persons with visual disabilities.

The case has been brought by Blind SA and Section27, who are challenging

South Africa’s copyright law to ensure that all people who are blind or visually impaired can immediately get access to the vast libraries of published works available to sighted people under the terms of an international treaty.

Known as the Marrakesh Treaty, it was adopted by member states of the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organisation, of which South Africa is a member, in June 2013.

It advocates for the rights of the blind and people with visual and print disabilities and made the production and international transfer of specially adapted books for such people easier by establishing a set of limitations and exceptions to traditional copyright law.

As far back as 2017, the Department of Trade and Industry made a commitment to ratify the treaty as soon as the Copyright Amendment Bill was enacted.

This bill proposes the insertion in the provisions of the act of a section referred to as 19D, to create exceptions to the Copyright Act for the benefit of the blind and people with visual and print disabilities.

In court papers, the activists have asked the court to “read in” Section 19D with immediate effect so that people who are blind or visually impaired can access works under copyright in accessible formats.

In September 2021, the high court found the current Copyright Act unconstitutional for violating blind and partially sighted people’s rights to equality, freedom of expression, language and participation in the cultural life of one’s choice.