Copyright is protected in terms of the 1978 Copyright Act. Copyright law over the years has become complex and this document is not intended to be a full exposition of the law.

Please contact us if any topic is of particular concern to you and is not dealt with in this synopsis or is not dealt with in sufficient detail to answer your question.

The Works Protected by Copyright
Copyright protects a wide variety of "works", which includes:
Artistic works
Literary works
Musical works
Sculptures
Compilations
Works of architecture
Engineering drawings
Radio broadcasts
Television broadcasts
Computer programs.

Originality and Eligibility
To be eligible for copyright protection a work must be original. If it is simply copied from an earlier work it cannot be original. Decided cases show that the degree of originality need only be small to achieve copyright protection but that some time, skill and effort must have gone into the creation of the work.

A further requirement is that of nationality, domicile or residence. To be eligible for copyright the author must be a citizen or a resident of South Africa or any other country that is a member of the Berne Convention. A South African company or close corporation can in respect of certain forms of copyright be deemed to be the author of copyright e.g. films, broadcasts etc.

Copyright Ownership
The author of a work is, generally speaking, the owner of copyright in the work created. There are a few exceptions to this general principle such as the copyright in a work created during a person s employment will vest in the employer.

IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT WHERE A WORK IS CREATED BY ONE PARTY (THE AUTHOR) AND PAID FOR BY ANOTHER, COPYRIGHT USUALLY VESTS IN THE AUTHOR UNLESS THERE IS A WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT. COPYRIGHT IN ARTWORK CREATED BY A DESIGNER OR IN A PROGRAMME CREATED BY A COMPUTER PROGRAMMER THUS VESTS IN THE DESIGNER OR PROGRAMMER. HENCE IF A PROGRAMMER SELLS TO HIS CUSTOMERS A PROGRAM FOR WHICH ANOTHER PARTY PAID, THE OTHER PARTY HAS NO GROUND FOR COMPLAINT. OWNERSHIP OF COPYRIGHT SHOULD THUS BE SETTLED WHEN THE CONTRACT IS PLACED.

Registration / Marking
It is conventional to mark works in which copyright is claimed by the following:
All original works must be marked with the appropriate copyright symbol as evidence of one's ownership in the work.

© Name of Copyright Owner. Year of Publication

With the exception of cinematograph films, copyright cannot be registered in South Africa. Copyright protection is automatic. When an original work is created it is automatically protected by copyright without compliance with any formalities.

Term of Copyright
With some exceptions copyright generally subsists for the life of the author plus fifty years.

International Copyright
Insofar as works created in other countries are concerned, the prudent approach is to assume that all literary, artistic and other works created outside South Africa are protected by copyright in South Africa.

This is in terms of the Copyright Act and the various conventions which are currently in force. There may be exceptions to this but they are few in number. Likewise, other countries will in the main give copyright protection to South African copyright owners.

Copyright Infringement
Copyright infringement occurs when an unauthorized person performs one of the acts which, in the Copyright Act, are restricted to the copyright owner. Examples of restricted acts are:
reproducing the work in any manner or form.
publishing the work if previously unpublished.
including the work in a film or television broadcast.
if the work is a film, making a still photograph from it, causing it to be seen and heard in public or broadcasting it.
if the work is a sound recording, making a record embodying the sound recording, or hiring out the recording.
making an adaptation of the work.
doing any one of the acts listed above in respect of an adaptation of the work

Adaptation means converting the work from one form to another i.e. a play to a book and vice versa, a book to a screen play, translating the work, conversion of a computer program to another notation etc. Generally provided the original or substantial features of the work remain recognisable the "new" work probably falls within the definition of adaptation.

The basic premise of copyright law is to prevent unauthorized persons from benefiting financially from the original works of others.

Penalties for Infringement
The legislature has taken a very strict approach to copyright infringement. There are civil sanctions (interdict, damages and court costs) and criminal sanctions. It is the latter which anyone copying should be most concerned about as fines up to R10,000 can be imposed, and prison sentences of up to five years.

Unauthorized copying of any artistic or literary work of any type, the copying of a sound recording etc (except for private use) should be avoided at all costs.