enacted by the Parliament of South Africa

“ The copyright in an artistic work shall not be infringed by its inclusion in a cinematograph film or a television broadcast or transmission in a diffusion service, if such inclusion is merely by way of background, or incidental, to the principal matters represented in the film, broadcast or transmission. ”

“ Copyright shall be infringed by any person, not being the owner of the copyright, who, without the licence of such owner, does or causes any other person to do, in the Republic, any act which the owner of the copyright may authorize. ”

“ The copyright in an article published in a newspaper or periodical, or in a broadcast, on any current economic, political or religious topic shall not be infringed by reproducing it in the press or broadcasting it, if such reproduction or broadcast has not been expressly reserved and the source is clearly mentioned. ”

“ A work shall be taken to have been published if copies have been issued with the consent of the owner of the copyright in sufficient quantities to satisfy the reasonable requirements of the public, having regard to the nature of the work, and, in particular, publication in relation to a cinematograph film shall mean the sale, letting on hire or offer for sale or hire of copies of the film. ”

“ Where a person commissions the taking of a photograph, the painting or drawing of a portrait, the making of a gravure, the making of a cinematograph film or the making of a sound recording and pays or agrees to pay for it in money or money’s worth, and the work is made in pursuance of that commission, such person shall, subject to the provisions of paragraph (b) , be the owner of any copyright subsisting therein by virtue of section 3 or 4. ”

“ In the case of anonymous or pseudonymous literary, musical or artistic works, the copyright therein shall subsist for fifty years from the end of the year in which the work is lawfully made available to the public or from the end of the year in which it is reasonable to presume that the author died, whichever term is the shorter. ”

“ A testamentary disposition of the material on which a work is first written or otherwise recorded shall, in the absence of a stipulation to the contrary, be taken to include the disposition of any copyright or future copyright in the work which is vested in the deceased at the time of his death. ”

“ Where sounds embodied in a sound-track associated with a cinematograph film are also embodied in a record other than such a sound-track or in a record derived directly or indirectly from such a sound-track, the copyright in the film shall not be infringed by the use of that record. ”

“ Copyright shall be conferred by this section on every work which is eligible for copyright and which―
(a)
being a literary, musical or artistic work or a sound recording, is first published in the Republic; (b)
being a broadcast, is made in the Republic; (c)
being a programme-carrying signal, is emitted to a satellite from a place in the Republic; or (d)
being a cinematograph film, is first published or made in the Republic, (e)
being a published edition, is first published in the Republic,
[Para. (e) added by s. 4 of Act No. 52 of 1984.] ”

“ In addition to reproductions permitted in terms of this Act reproduction of a work shall also be permitted as prescribed by regulation, but in such a manner that the reproduction is not in conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and is not unreasonably prejudicial to the legitimate interests of the owner of the copyright. ”

“ An assignment, licence or testamentary disposition may be granted or made in respect of the copyright in a future work, or the copyright in an existing work in which copyright does not subsist but will come into being in the future, and the future copyright in any such work shall be transmissible as movable property. ”

“ An exclusive licensee and an exclusive sub-licensee shall have the same rights of action and be entitled to the same remedies as if the license were an assignment, and those rights and remedies shall be concurrent with the rights and remedies of the owner of the copyright under which the licence and sub-licence were granted. ”

“ A publication in the Republic or in any other country shall not be treated as being other than the first publication by reason only of an earlier publication elsewhere, if the two publications took place within a period of not more than thirty days from one another. ”

“ Any person who commits an act contrary to a prohibition contemplated in paragraph (a) , shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding ten thousand rand or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years. ”

“ The Registrar shall be responsible for the administration of the advisory committee and the subcommittees.
Savings. 41. (1) Nothing in this Act shall affect any right or privilege of the state subsisting otherwise than by virtue of any law, or any right or privilege of the state or of any other person under any law not expressly repealed, amended or modified by this Act. ”

“ General exceptions from protection of sound recordings. 17. The provisions of section 12 (1) to (5) inclusive and (12) shall mutatis mutandis apply with reference to sound recordings.
General exceptions from protection of broadcasts. 18. The provisions of section 12 (1) to (4) inclusive and (12) shall mutatis mutandis apply with reference to broadcasts.
General exceptions from protection of programme-carrying signals. 19. (1) The copyright in programme-carrying signals shall not be infringed by the distribution of short excerpts of the programme so carried― ”