Archive for the ‘Copyright’ Category
The protection provided under South Africa copyright laws doesn’t extend to ideas. To be eligible for protection under South Africa copyright laws the ideas must be expressed in material form. If someone has a great idea and shares that idea with another person who then goes on to publishing it in a written format, the person who’s idea it is, will not have the copyright to the work. Material or tangible format extends to cover broadcasted, photographed, painted, drawn or composed formats as well. It is however, not possible to get copyright protection for names or titles as trademark protection applies rather than copyright protection. Public knowledge and common property cannot be protected under the South Africa copyright laws. Examples of common property are telephone directories or voter lists.
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Never think that if a book is in a library and you use the library copier to copy part of the book, that you have not committed copyright infringement. A few guidelines regarding copying are shared by South Africa copyright attorneys to help you avoid copyright infringement. Libraries and archives can only duplicate published work for reference purposes. The works cannot be put on the reserve shelves for patrons or students as the law states that work can only be copied for private use. Libraries have the right to do so for reference purposes and not to distribute information. Even part of a book copied and distributed will constitute copyright infringement. If you need help in preventing copyright infringement at your company or educational institution contact the Smit & Van Wyk South Africa copyright attorneys.
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As a writer you will want the benefits that come from owning copyright on your work. If however, you plan to get the work published you will have to enter into copyright and publishing agreements with the publishing house. As such you will require the assistance of Pretoria copyright attorneys such as Smit & Van Wyk. First time published authors often fall into the trap of signing agreements where all rights on the work go the publisher, with little or no scope of self marketing for the author. It is even possible to commit copyright infringement on your own work if you have signed away all the rights. Get the help of experienced Pretoria copyright attorneys such as Smit & Van Wyk for the reviewing of agreements with publishers before signing any agreements.
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Pretoria copyright lawyers for musicians
More often than not people think of copyright only in terms of literary work. Copyright however, also extends to cover music. The Smit & Van Wyk team of Pretoria copyright lawyers assist musicians in reaping the benefits of their work. Songs broadcasted and performed live, should also bring income for the musicians. Unfortunately so many musicians never experience the real value of their work because their songs and compositions are performed live without them ever realizing it. As such it is vital to get in the help of Pretoria copyright lawyers to ensure that you as a musician will get the full benefits of your music work. This also applies to DJ’s who have mixed and created unique works.
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How Gauteng copyright attorneys can assist photographers
A photo just as any other tangible form of art or literary work protected under Copyright Law in South Africa automatically enjoys copyright protection the moment the picture is taken and available in a tangible form. The Smit & Van Wyk Gauteng copyright attorneys can assist freelance photographers in the setting up of agreements with clients ensuring that they will reap the benefits from their work. It should be noted that in South Africa, the person who commissioned a picture becomes the rightful owner of the picture upon payment for the picture. Helping photographers who want to display their work on the Internet or at art galleries to get the commercial benefits is part of our job. Our Gauteng copyright attorneys can help you set up client and licence agreements and also to review any publisher agreements to ensure that you retain essential rights to your work.
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Guidelines provided by Gauteng copyright lawyers
As part of our commitment to client service our team of Gauteng copyright lawyers also provide consultation services. General questions regarding copyright are answered at our blog, through articles at our website, and through full explanation pages. If however, a client requires detailed information about a specific case, we recommend that you get in contact with the Smit & Van Wyk team of Gauteng copyright lawyers. General information such as the right to assign copyrights to another party, how copyrights differ from that of trademarks and patents, and the lifespan of copyright on a work, are answered at our site. Should you however, need assistance in reviewing an agreement or obtaining the royalties to your work, contact our experienced team of Gauteng copyright lawyers.
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Gauteng copyright Attorneys provide guidance on copyrights
Original works of creativity automatically receive copyright protection. It is however, a requirement that the works be in tangible form. Our team of Gauteng copyright Attorneys will advice you that ideas are not eligible for copyright protection since ideas are not in tangible form. With tangible form it is meant music, artwork, photos, books, articles, and broadcasts, as well as films. The team of Gauteng copyright Attorneys working at Smit & Van Wyk will help you make the most of the protection under the South African Copyright Law when it comes to setting up agreements to sign over rights to third parties. You may for instance, need to review the agreement with a music production company, publisher or art gallery before signing it as the original author or artist who needs to benefit from the commercial exploitation of your works.
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South Africa Patent Laws favour the usage of attorneys Even though it is possible to file a patent application directly without the usage of a patent lawyer or attorney, it cannot be recommended. The reason is simple. The South Africa patent laws favour the usage of an attorney. The South African Patent Office is a non-investigating office. This means that you can complete the application, file it and even receive the patent right upon payment of the required fees without the invention complying with all the requirements. It is not a loophole in the system. It simply means that the responsibility lies with the applicant to ensure that the invention is indeed patentable and that the application will be done correctly. The snag comes in when another applicant or company questions the patentability of the invention down the line or argues that the idea was not original at all. Lawsuits may follow and all the money already spent in the commercial development of the patent may be lost forever. You will need the help of a patent lawyer who knows the South Africa patent laws and will conduct the novelty searches and apply in the correct manner right from the word go.
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January 18, 2010 | Copyright
Many website owners never take action against third parties that have copied content from their site without prior permission or full acknowledgement through the correct citation. It occurs because the site owners don’t know their rights under Copyright Law. Many mistakenly believe that under Copyright Law the work must first be registered as copyright protected. Fortunately not. The moment that an idea takes tangible form such as a photo, image, article etc. it already enjoys protection against copying without prior permission and the required citation. This affords website owners more power to act against the perpetrators under Copyright Law. If however, you want to ensure that a book or lengthy piece of work is not copied and have legal grounds to stand on, you may want to get in the help of attorneys specialising in Copyright Law who will be able to provide guidance on the correct steps.
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January 15, 2010 | Copyright
In South Africa, like in most Berne Convention countries, copyright subsist in a qualified work, the moment that the work is created in physical form. Therefore, no registration of copyright is necessary for copyright to subsist. Copyright provides exclusivity to the owner thereof to perform certain acts in respect of the works. In South Africa it is advisable to add the copyright symbol before the name and year or as an alternative write the word ‘copyright’ before the name and year. The South African Copyright Act makes provision to register copyright in cinematograph films. The benefit of registering such copyright is that the rights that already subsist in the copyright owner is recorded at CIPRO and, should the owner thereof institute proceedings, such registration can be used as proof of such rights. In event that copyright is not registered in cinematograph films, such rights first have to be proved during the course of the proceedings.
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