Copyright

Public domain works refers to intellectual property that is not owned by anyone. The term indicates that these properties are therefore "public", and available for anyone to use. The public...

It is not necessary to formally submit copyright applications in order to receive copyright protection. Copyright exists automatically in force of creation. In other words, as...

Copyright attorneys will tell you that copyright in South Africa, as in many other countries, does not need to be registered. Unlike patents, trademarks and designs, the rights associated...

Smit & Van Wyk is an intellectual property law firm located in South Africa. Our copyright attorneys have experience dealing with copyright and trademark related issues. With advances in...

It is important to know that once you upload your photographs onto the Internet that it is your own responsibility to take the necessary steps to protect the copyright of...

Copyright is just one of the four divisions that fall under the general heading of Intellectual Property, and there are South African attorneys who have had special training in the subject and will...

It is possible to copyright films in South Africa under the Copyright Act of 1978, because any cinematograph film or storage, fixation, and production such as signalling of data to produce the work...

What is Copyright? A copyright is an exclusive right granted to an author of original work for a limited period of time. For a work to be eligible for copyright protection, it must be original and...

Copyright does NOT need to be registered in South Africa It is not possible to register copyright photographs in South Africa, unlike other forms of intellectual property, copyright vests in the...

In December 2013 one of the first arrests were made in South Africa for copyright infringing file-sharing online. Majedien Machos Norton was convicted of criminal copyright infringement for posting...

It is not possible to register copyright in South Africa. Copyright is different from other forms of Intellectual Property because copyright does NOT have to be registered in South Africa. Once the...

Copyright protects original musical works. Unlike patents, trademarks and designs, the rights associated with copyright rest in the author of a work once the work is created in a material...

Copyright protects original photographs. Unlike patents, trademarks and designs, the rights associated with copyright rest in the author of a work once the work is created in a material...

Copyright Law in South Africa are governed by the Copyright Act of 1978 and its amendments. CIPC and DTI oversee copyright in the country. As a member of the Berne Convention and TRIPS...

Copyright registration is unnecessary for articles or work on the Internet since copyright is automatically implied the moment that an original creative idea takes tangible form. As such one doesn’t...