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UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL COPYRIGHT AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN COPYRIGHT LAW WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE IMPACT ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND ACCESS TO EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS 2014 NOMVUYO NICOLE SIPHEPHO 1 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this dissertation is my own, original work, and that all my sources of information have been acknowledged. To my knowledge, neither the substance of this dissertation, nor any part thereof, is being submitted for any degree in any other University. 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Apart from the efforts of myself, the success of any project depends largely on the encouragement and guidelines of many others. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the people who have been instrumental in the successful completion of this project. First and above all, I praise God, the almighty for providing me this opportunity and granting me the capability to pursue my dreams. The wisdom and perseverance that he has bestowed upon me during this research project, and indeed, throughout my life: "I can do everything through him who give me strength." (Philippians 4: 13) I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Professor Tanya Woker for the useful comments, remarks and engagement through the learning process of this Masters Dissertation. She has been a tremendous mentor for me; I really enjoyed working with her. Lastly, this journey would not have been possible without the support of my family who have encouraged me in all of my pursuits and inspired me to follow my dreams; Dr Jameson Siphepho, Mrs Sisana Siphepho, Ncaba, Yolanda and Mukelo. I am also grateful to my friends especially Makhosazana Mamba for always believing in me and wanting the best for me. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 7 1.1 Background and research problem .............................................................................. 7 1.2 Purpose of the dissertation and research questions ..................................................... 9 1.3 Methodology ............................................................................................................... 9 1.4 An overview of the dissertation ................................................................................ 10 2 AN OVERVIEW OF COPYRIGHT LAW ..................................................................... 12 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Definition of copyright .............................................................................................. 12 2.2 Early beginnings ........................................................................................................ 13 2.3 The Berne Convention .............................................................................................. 19 2.4 The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights .............. 22 2.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 25 3 THEORIES OF COPYRIGHT LAW .............................................................................. 26 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 26 3.2 Natural rights theory.................................................................................................. 27 3.2.1 Criticisms of the natural rights theory ............................................................... 27 3.3 Economic theory ....................................................................................................... 28 3.3.1 Criticisms for the economic theory .................................................................... 29 3.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 30 4 COPYRIGHT LAW IN SOUTH AFRICA ..................................................................... 31 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 31 4.2 A short history of the development of copyright law in South Africa ...................... 31 4.3 The Copyright Act 98 of 1978 .................................................................................. 32 4.3.1 Works protected by copyright ............................................................................ 32 4.3.2 Ownership of copyright...................................................................................... 34 4.3.3 Requirements for the subsistence of copyright .................................................. 36 4.3.4 Duration of copyright ........................................................................................ 39 4.3.5 Use of a work subject to copyright .................................................................... 39 4.4 Organisations protecting authors copyright .............................................................. 40 4.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 41 5 THE PUBLIC INTEREST ............................................................................................... 42 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 42 4 5.2 There is no copyright in ideas ................................................................................... 42 5.3 Fair Use Doctrine ...................................................................................................... 43 5.3.1 TRIPS and fair use ............................................................................................. 44 5.3.2 The USA interpretation of fair use ..................................................................... 46 5.3.3 South African interpretation of fair use ............................................................. 48 5.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 51 6 DEVELOPMENTS IN COPYRIGHT LAW................................................................... 52 6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 52 6.2 The extension of time ................................................................................................ 52 6.2.1 Orphan works..................................................................................................... 54 6.3 The extension of works covered by copyrights ......................................................... 57 6.4 Automatic Vesting..................................................................................................... 59 6.5 The Digital Millennium Copyright Act ..................................................................... 59 6.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 61 7 COPYRIGHT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ............................................................ 62 7.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 62 7.2 The need for education in developing countries ....................................................... 62 7.3 Lack of access to educational materials .................................................................... 63 7.4 Additional barriers to access to information in South Africa.................................... 64 7.4.1 Parallel importation........................................................................................... 64 7.4.2 The translation of works .................................................................................... 65 7.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 66 8 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................ 67 8.1 Re think the period of protection............................................................................... 69 8.2 Incorporate some form of registration ....................................................................... 69 8.3 Improve the current landscape of copyright exceptions and limitations ................... 70 Bibliography 5 TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS DALRO: The Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation. DMCA: Digital Millennium Copyright Act. DTI: Department of Trade and Industry. FAIFE: Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression. IFLA: International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. IP: Intellectual Property. IPRs: Intellectual Property Rights. NORM: National Organisation for Reproduction Rights in Music. SAMRO: Southern African Music Rights Organisation. SC: Stationers Company. TRIPS: The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property. UK: United Kingdom. USA: United States of America. WIPO: World International Property Organisation. WTO: World Trade Organisation. WWII: World War II. 6 CHAPTER 1 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background and research problem Writers write in order to convey information and ideas to the general public. How the general public then uses that information