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It is possible to copyright films in South Africa under the Copyright Act of 1978. Any cinematograph film or storage, fixation, and production such as signalling of data to produce the work fall under the protection. This means that the soundtrack of the movie, the broadcasting thereof, reproduction adaptations, still photos, letting of copies, and more fall within the protection.
The copyright films enjoy afford ownership rights to the person or entity that made the movie or commissioned it. If someone is in the employment of a company for instance, and produces the movie as an employee for the company, then the ownership vests in the company and not the employee.
An infringement can take place when copyright films are duplicated, and rented out or any of the actions such as still photograph productions from the movie are carried out without the consent of the owner/creator.
Copyright films however, do not have the same protection with regards to reviewing and reporting of current events or illstrations in terms of teaching if complied with specific conditions. The same applies for demonstrations of the movies via broadcast.
As this is a complicated field of Intellectual Property Law, it is best to seek the advice of Intellectual Property lawyers such as Smit & Van Wyk to assist in establishing the boundaries in which a person can operate without infringing on the rights of another.
Contact us to help you set up agreements, determine whether infringement has taken place and what to avoid if you want to prevent infringement of another's rights in this field of Intellectual Property Law.
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