President Cyril Ramaphosa’s refusal to sign the Copyright Amendment Bill before the Constitutional Court’s September 21 deadline is evidence of the government’s lack of consideration for blind and partially sighted people, according to non-profit organisation Blind SA.
This blockage is a real setback for us. We feel that the government, including the president, is completely disinterested in our situation,” Christo de Klerk, chair of Blind SA, told the Mail & Guardian.
The bill seeks to restore a better balance between the commercial rights of copyright owners and the rights of users, including blind people, to access works. It has struggled to see the light of day since it was introduced in parliament in 2017. Ramaphosa had previously refused to sign it into law, sending it back to the National Assembly in 2020 due to concerns about the constitutionality of some of its provisions.
Earlier this year, both houses of parliament approved the bill, the first comprehensive attempt to modernise South Africa’s copyright laws in more than 50 years, and sent it to the president for signature.
Blind SA and public interest rights group Section27 petitioned the Constitutional Court in 2022 to challenge the constitutionality of the current copyright law copyright law, which they claim discriminates against people who are blind or partially sighted. The Court found the law unconstitutional because it required people who are blind or partially sighted to obtain the consent of the copyright owner before they could convert books and other published works into accessible formats, such as Braille or large print.
The proposed bill would amend the law by allowing people with disabilities to convert published works into accessible formats without requiring permission from the copyright owner.
The government has previously stated that once the Copyright Amendment Bill is enacted, South Africa will ratify the Marrakesh Treaty adopted by member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2013. The treaty facilitates the production and international transfer of books specially adapted for people who are blind or partially sighted by establishing a set of limitations and exceptions to traditional copyright law.
Ratification of this international treaty will enable blind and partially sighted people in South Africa to participate in the cross-border exchange of reading materials in accessible formats and will make thousands of titles available to them in accessible formats..
According to the proposed bill, South Africa’s copyright law is based on UK law, with an open interpretation of the concept of “fair dealing” to determine whether the use or copying of copyrighted material without a license is permitted or not.
However, based on the amendments, South Africa will have to work with the concept of “fair use” adopted by the United States, which allows the reproduction or use of copyrighted material without the prior consent of the author or publisher.
The bill notably allows creators, such as photographers, to negotiate a copyright ownership contract, rather than paying a third party to automatically become the sole owner of the copyright for the entire term of the copyright.
The bill has undergone extensive public hearings and deliberations in both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, and was rejected by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, the world’s leading network of authors’ societies.
“The bill is a positive initiative that fails to achieve its intended objective – to protect creators and ensure that South Africa has a modern, fair and fit-for-purpose copyright environment,” Gadi Oron, the confederation’s chief executive, said in a statement in February.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, told the M&G that the presidency could not confirm when the bill would be signed into law. “We will announce it once it is signed, as we always do,” he said.
This blockage of President Ramaphosa’s signing of the Copyright Amendment Bill highlights the challenges faced by blind and partially sighted people in South Africa when it comes to copyright. It highlights the need for reforms to ensure equitable access to published works for these vulnerable populations, and underscores the importance of modernizing copyright laws to meet the current needs of society.