Copyright Applications
January 4, 2010
Attorneys, Copyright ©
South Africa is one of the countries that adhere to the international Berne Convention, meaning that copyright applications aren’t necessary – the right automatically belongs to who is considered as the author of the work.
The South African Copyright Act is quite clear on whom it considers to be the author – usually the creator or first owner of the work – but as is often the case, there are a few exceptions:
- Literary or artistic works made by an author when employed by a newspaper, magazine or the like. In this case, authorship vests in the publisher.
- If someone commissions and pays for the taking of a photograph, painting or drawing of a portrait
- If someone commissions and pays for the making of a film or sound recording
- If the work was created in the course of an author’s employment, the authorship vests in the employer
The lack of copyright applications makes it difficult to determine authorship in certain cases.
Contact intellectual property experts Smit & Van Wyk Incorporated to assist with any queries.
Contact Details for Smit & Van Wyk:
Tel:
+27 (0) 12 349 7800
Fax:
+27 (0) 86 619 0493
E-mail:
enquiries@svw.co.za
Physical Address / Courier:
Block A Apex Corporate Park
Quintin Brand Street
Persequor Technopark
Meiring Naudé Avenue
Pretoria
0184
South Africa
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Automatic copyright
August 24, 2009
Copyright ©, Intellectual Property Information
In all countries where the Berne Convention standards apply, copyright is automatic, and need not be obtained through official registration with any government office.
Once an idea has been reduced to tangible form, for example by securing it in a fixed medium (such as a drawing, sheet music, photograph, a videotape, or a computer file), the copyright holder is entitled to enforce his or her exclusive rights.
However, while registration isn’t needed to exercise copyright, in jurisdictions where the laws provide for registration, it serves as prima facie evidence of a valid copyright and enables the copyright holder to seek statutory damages and attorney’s fees.
(In the USA, registering after an infringement only enables one to receive actual damages and lost profits.)
Contact Details for Smit & Van Wyk
Tel
+27 (0) 12 349 7800
Fax
+27 (0) 86 619 0493
E-mail
enquiries@svw.co.za
Physical Address / Courier
Block A Apex Corporate Park
Quintin Brand Street
Persequor Technopark
Meiring Naudé Avenue
Pretoria
0184
South Africa
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How is copyright regulated?
August 24, 2009
Copyright ©, Intellectual Property Information
A created work is considered protected by copyright as soon as it exists. According to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, literary and artistic works are protected without any formalities in the countries party to that Convention.
Thus, WIPO does not offer any kind of copyright registration system.
However, many countries have a national copyright office and some laws allow for registration of works for the purposes of, for example, identifying and distinguishing titles of works. In certain countries, registration can also serve as prima facie evidence in a court of law with reference to disputes relating to copyright.
Many owners of creative works do not have the means to pursue the legal and administrative enforcement of copyright, especially given the increasingly worldwide use of literary, musical and performance rights.
As a result, the establishment of collective management organizations or societies is a growing trend in many countries.
These societies can provide members the benefits of the organization’s administrative and legal expertise in, for example, collecting, managing, and disbursing royalties gained from international use of a member’s work. – WIPO
Contact Details for Smit & Van Wyk
Tel
+27 (0) 12 349 7800
Fax
+27 (0) 86 619 0493
E-mail
enquiries@svw.co.za
Physical Address / Courier
Block A Apex Corporate Park
Quintin Brand Street
Persequor Technopark
Meiring Naudé Avenue
Pretoria
0184
South Africa
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Copyright Dates
September 25, 2008
Copyright ©
When you see several dates in a copyright statement, it simply means that certain things were created in one year and modified later.
It could also mean that new things were created and added in a later year.
It most definitely does not refer to the date that a copyright will expire. Expiration of a copyright actually takes place much later, and this period of validity begins from the date that you see in the copyright statement.
The Berne Convention establishes a general and minimum period that lasts the life of the author and fifty years after his (or her) death.
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The Berne Convention
June 21, 2008
Copyright ©
Copyright protection on the international level began by about the middle of the nineteenth century on the basis of bilateral treaties.
A number of such treaties providing for mutual recognition of rights were concluded but they were neither comprehensive enough nor of a uniform pattern.
The need for a uniform system led to the formulation and adoption on September 9, 1886, of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
The Berne Convention is the oldest international treaty in the field of copyright.
It is open to all States. Instruments of accession or ratification are deposited with the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
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