Category: PASA and the Copyright Amendment Bill

Pursuing the recommendations of the Copyright Review Commission (2011), the South African Department of Trade and Industry released the first version of the Copyright Amendment Bill in 2015. PASA supported the need expressed by numerous copyright stakeholders for a review of the 1978 Copyright Act and its regulations. After comprehensive feedback from stakeholders – in which many raised severe concerns about the direction the Bill was taking and the drafting errors it contained – the revised Copyright Amendment Bill was published in 2017.

PASA has participated in the consultation process throughout, presenting in parliament during public hearings and submitting written comments on the Bill on behalf of its members. The documents submitted are available below.

The report of the Copyright Review Commission, mentioned above, is available here for background reading: Read more

Supplementary submissions
In addition, PASA, in conjunction with DALRO, the Dramatic Arts and Literary Rights Organisation, sent the following supplementary submissions to elucidate existing positions and provide new information.

– On ‘fair use’: Read more
– On library exceptions: Read more
– On a two-phase process for the Bill, and support for an exception for the visually disabled in line with the Marrakesh Treaty: Read more