Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has sent the Copyright Amendment Bill back to the National Assembly for consideration after expressing reservations regarding its constitutionality.
It was presented to Ramaphosa to be signed into law. Similar concerns have been raised about the Performers Protection Bill, which cross-references the Copyright Amendment Bill.
“In considering the numerous and varied submissions made and the process followed in Parliament to pass the bills, I have a number of reservations as to their constitutionality.
"These reservations led me to conclude that, in their present form, the bills may not pass constitutional muster and may therefore be vulnerable to constitutional challenge,” Ramaphosa's submission read.
Several factors led to the move to pass the bill, including that teachers and librarians seek greater and easier access to works of all kinds; and that the visually impaired may have works translated into braille by introducing exceptions to exclusive rights of authors.
The Copyright Coalition of SA has welcomed Ramaphosa's referral of the bill for reconsideration. The organisations include the Independent Black Filmmakers Collective, The Music Publishers Association of South Africa, The Publishers Association of South Africa, the Academic and Non-Fiction Authors of South Africa, and Printing SA among others.