{"id":126528,"date":"2018-11-25T14:48:08","date_gmt":"2018-11-25T12:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/why-fair-use-is-so-important-for-south-african-copyright-law-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2018-11-25T14:48:08","modified_gmt":"2018-11-25T12:48:08","slug":"why-fair-use-is-so-important-for-south-african-copyright-law-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/why-fair-use-is-so-important-for-south-african-copyright-law-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Why ‘fair use’ is so important for South African copyright law | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why ‘fair use’ is so important for South African copyright law<\/a>: <\/p>\n

South Africa seeks to amend its outdated copyright legislation. <\/span> Shutterstock<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFair use\u201d is a doctrine adopted by some countries that permits the use of copyright material like books, journals, music and art work \u2013 without requiring permission from the copyright holder. It provides a balance between the just demands of rights-holders and the need for people to use copyright material for education, research, in libraries and archives.<\/p>\n

The reuse of copyright material is done within a framework of four criteria. These determine whether the proposed use is fair or not. If the user complies with these, they may go ahead and use the copyright work without permission from the rights-holder.<\/p>\n

In the US, which entrenched the doctrine in its law in 1976, fair use has served citizens well. It has enabled the country\u2019s creative industries to grow exponentially \u2013 so much so that the US boasts the largest and most successful filmed entertainment, music, book publishing, and video games in the world. <\/p>\n

Despite these gains, \u201cfair use\u201d has its naysayers. Now the debate has come to South Africa, as the country seeks to amend its outdated copyright legislation.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s Copyright Amendment Bill has been redrafted several times since 2015. It has been discussed and debated over the past 15 months by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry. In its latest draft, the Bill outlines several fair use provisions and exceptions for the educational, research and library sectors. <\/p>\n

These have been largely welcomed in the higher education space and formally supported by many international and local organisations, institutions, teacher unions, NGOs, various creators, and libraries and archives. That\u2019s because fair use provisions will facilitate better access to information and resource-sharing, along with other benefits like allowing accessible formats for persons with disabilities.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also been fierce opposition to these provisions. Groups that object to the proposed changes would prefer to maintain what\u2019s known as \u201cfair dealing\u201d as the status quo. This is a legal doctrine that allows for an express, finite (closed) list of uses of copyright material without permission from the copyright holder. It\u2019s far more restrictive in application than \u201cfair use\u201d.<\/p>\n

The problem is that the status quo is outdated. Entrenching fair use in South African copyright law is a way to ensure the country steps firmly into the present and, ultimately, is able to move into the future. Fair use is \u201cfuture-proof\u201d. The US, for instance, has not needed to change its fair use provisions since 1976. That\u2019s because the provisions already cater for new technologies, artificial intelligence and new developments that arise out of the fast-advancing fourth industrial revolution.<\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s copyright law must not continue to ignore fair use.<\/p>\n

Not a piracy tool<\/h2>\n

Several arguments have been levelled against fair use in South Africa and other parts of the world.<\/p>\n

First, it\u2019s been suggested that fair use offers carte blanche for infringing copyright owners\u2019 rights. Some argue that, for instance, a university could buy one copy of a prescribed book and make copies for thousands of students, without compensating the author. But that\u2019s not fair use; that\u2019s copyright infringement, and it\u2019s expressly forbidden according to the framework that governs fair use.<\/p>\n

This framework consists of four criteria, which explore the following issues:<\/p>\n