Case Law[2022] ZACC 33South Africa
Blind SA v Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition and Others (CCT 320/21) [2022] ZACC 33; 2023 (2) BCLR 117 (CC); 2022 BIP 518 (CC); [2022] HIPR 204 (CC) (21 September 2022)
Constitutional Court of South Africa
21 September 2022
Headnotes
Summary: Copyright Act 98 of 1978 — constitutionality of sections 6 and 7, read with section 23 — provisions are unconstitutional — infringement of the rights of persons with visual and print disabilities, as set out in sections 9(3), 10, 16(1)(b), 29(1) and 30 of the Constitution
Judgment
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## Blind SA v Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition and Others (CCT 320/21) [2022] ZACC 33; 2023 (2) BCLR 117 (CC); 2022 BIP 518 (CC); [2022] HIPR 204 (CC) (21 September 2022)
Blind SA v Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition and Others (CCT 320/21) [2022] ZACC 33; 2023 (2) BCLR 117 (CC); 2022 BIP 518 (CC); [2022] HIPR 204 (CC) (21 September 2022)
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sino date 21 September 2022
CONSTITUTIONAL
COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
Case
CCT 320/21
In
the matter between:
BLIND
SA
Applicant
and
MINISTER
OF TRADE, INDUSTRY AND
COMPETITION
First Respondent
MINISTER
OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND
COOPERATION
Second Respondent
SPEAKER
OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Third Respondent
CHAIRPERSON
OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF
PROVINCES
Fourth Respondent
PRESIDENT
OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
Fifth Respondent
and
OWEN
DEAN
First Amicus Curiae
MEDIA
MONITORING AFRICA TRUST
Second Amicus Curiae
INTERNATIONAL
COMMISSION OF JURISTS
Third Amicus Curiae
Neutral
citation:
Blind
SA v Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition and Others
[2022] ZACC 33
Coram:
Kollapen J, Madlanga J, Majiedt J, Mathopo J,
Mhlantla J, Mlambo AJ, Theron J, Tshiqi J and Unterhalter
AJ
Judgment:
Unterhalter AJ (unanimous)
Heard
on:
12 May 2022
Decided
on:
21 September 2022
Summary:
Copyright Act 98 of 1978
—
constitutionality of
sections 6
and
7
, read with
section 23
—
provisions are unconstitutional — infringement of the rights of
persons with visual and print disabilities, as set
out in sections
9(3), 10, 16(1)(b), 29(1) and 30 of the Constitution
ORDER
On
application for confirmation of an order of constitutional invalidity
granted by the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng
Division,
Pretoria (Mbongwe J):
1.
The order of the High Court of South
Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria declaring the
Copyright Act 98 of
1978
inconsistent with the Constitution is confirmed to the extent
provided in paragraph 2.
2.
It is declared that sections 6 and 7, read
with
section 23
of the
Copyright Act 98 of 1978
, are
unconstitutional, invalid and inconsistent with the rights of persons
with visual and print disabilities, as set out in sections 9(3),
10, 16(1)(b), 29(1) and 30 of the Constitution, to the extent that
these provisions of the
Copyright Act limit
the access of such
persons to published literary works, and artistic works as may be
included in such literary works, in accessible
format copies.
3.
A person with a visual and print disability
described in paragraph 2 means a person who—
(a)
is blind;
(b)
has a visual impairment or a perceptual or
reading disability which cannot be improved to give visual function
substantially equivalent
to that of a person who has no such
impairment or disability and so is unable to read printed works to
substantially the same degree
as a person without an impairment or
disability; or
(c)
is otherwise unable, through physical
disability, to hold or manipulate a book or to focus or move the eyes
to the extent that would
normally be acceptable for reading
regardless of any other disabilities.
4.
The order of the High Court is otherwise
set aside, save for its order as to costs.
5.
The declaration of unconstitutionality in
paragraphs 1 and 2 takes effect from the date of this judgment and is
suspended for a
period of 24 months to enable Parliament to cure
the defect in the
Copyright Act giving
rise to its invalidity.
6.
During the period of suspension referred to
in paragraph 5, the
Copyright Act shall
be deemed to
include the following additional provisions:
“
Section
13A
Exceptions applicable to beneficiary persons
(1)
For the purposes of
section 13A
—
(a)
‘
accessible format copy’ means
a copy of a work in an alternative manner or form which gives a
beneficiary person access to
the work, including to permit the person
to have access as feasibly and comfortably as a person without visual
impairment or other
print disability. The accessible format copy must
be used exclusively by beneficiary persons and it must respect the
integrity
of the original work, taking due consideration of the
changes needed to make the work accessible in the alternative format
and
of the accessibility needs of the beneficiary persons;
(b)
‘
beneficiary person’ means a
person who—
(i)
is blind;
(ii)
has a visual impairment or a perceptual or
reading disability which cannot be improved to give visual function
substantially equivalent
to that of a person who has no such
impairment or disability and so is unable to read printed works to
substantially the same degree
as a person without an impairment or
disability; or
(iii)
is otherwise unable, through physical
disability, to hold or manipulate a book or to focus or move the eyes
to the extent that would
normally be acceptable for reading
regardless of any other disabilities;
(c)
‘
literary works’ means literary
works as defined in
section 1
of this Act, and shall be taken to
include artistic works forming part of a literary work;
(d)
‘
permitted entity’ means an
entity, including a government institution or non-profit
organisation, that provides education,
instructional training,
adaptive reading or information access to beneficiary persons on a
non profit basis, and has the provision
of such services as one
of its primary activities or institutional obligations.
(2)
A permitted entity may, without the
authorisation of the owner of copyright in a literary work, make an
accessible format copy of
the literary work; obtain from another
permitted entity, an accessible format copy, and supply those copies
to beneficiary
persons by any means, including non-commercial lending
or by electronic communication by wire or wireless means, and
undertake
any intermediate steps to achieve those objectives,
provided that all of the following conditions are met—
(a)
the permitted entity wishing to undertake
said activity has lawful access to that work or a copy of that work;
(b)
the work is converted to an accessible
format copy, which may include any means needed to navigate
information in the accessible
format, but does not introduce changes
other than those needed to make the work accessible to the
beneficiary person;
(c)
such accessible format copies are supplied
exclusively to be used by beneficiary persons; and
(d)
the activity is undertaken on a non-profit
basis.
(3)
A beneficiary person, or someone acting on
their behalf, including a primary caretaker or caregiver, may make an
accessible format
copy of a work for the personal use of the
beneficiary person or otherwise may assist the beneficiary person to
make and use accessible
format copies where the beneficiary person
has lawful access to that work or a copy of that work.”
7.
The Minister of Trade, Industry and
Competition shall pay the applicant’s costs in this Court,
including costs of two counsel.
JUDGMENT
UNTERHALTER AJ
(Kollapen J, Madlanga J, Majiedt J, Mathopo J, Mhlantla J,
Mlambo AJ, Theron J and Tshiqi J concurring):
Introduction
[1]
This
is an application for confirmation of an order granted by the
High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria
(High Court), declaring the
Copyright Act
[1
]
unconstitutional, to the extent that it: (a) limits and/or prevents
persons with visual and print disabilities from accessing works
under
copyright that persons without such disabilities are able to access;
and (b) does not include provisions designed to ensure
that persons
with visual and print disabilities are able to access works under
copyright in the manner contemplated by the Marrakesh
Treaty.
[2]
The application was brought in terms of section 172(2)(d) of the
Constitution, read with section 15(1)(b) of the Superior Courts
Act
[3]
and rule 16(4) of this Court’s Rules.
Parties
[2]
The applicant is Blind SA, a
non-profit organisation established for the purpose of promoting the
interests of blind people in South
Africa. The first respondent is
the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition (Minister).
The Minister is responsible
for the administration of the
Copyright Act and
enjoys the power to make regulations under the Act.
The Minister did not oppose the application before this Court but he
did file
written submissions. The second to fifth respondents are the
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, the Speaker of
the National Assembly, the Chairperson of the National Council of
Provinces and the President of the Republic of South Africa.
The
second to fifth respondents were joined as respondents in the
High Court proceedings but did not file any papers before
the
High Court, nor in this Court.
Amici
curiae
[3]
The
first amicus curiae is Professor Owen Dean,
an
attorney who has long practiced copyright law. He is also a leading
academic in the field.
Additionally,
Professor Dean is a Professor Emeritus and research fellow
of the University of Stellenbosch, and the author
of an important
text, the Handbook of South African Copyright Law
.
[4]
Professor Dean’s application to intervene as amicus curiae
was accompanied by an application to adduce further
evidence
in
terms of
rule 31
of this Court’s Rules. He raises issues
as to whether Blind SA’s application is sound.
The
second amicus curiae is Media Monitoring Africa Trust (MMA), a
non profit organisation that operates in the public interest
to
promote the development of a free, fair, ethical and critical media
in South Africa.
The
third amicus is the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), a
non governmental organisation which has defended human
rights
and promoted the rule of law throughout the world, since 1952.
Background and the
legislative process
[4]
The
crux of this matter concerns Blind SA’s contention that the
Copyright Act limits
the availability of works under copyright
in formats accessible to persons with print and visual
disabilities.
[5]
The
Copyright
Act requires
the consent of the copyright owner to convert works
into formats suitable for the use of persons with print and visual
disabilities.
As a result, such persons suffer limitations, often of
a severe kind, in accessing works under copyright that persons
without these
disabilities do not encounter.
[5]
There
is a legislative process under way to amend the
Copyright Act.
However
, this process has endured since 2015 when the Minister
published a draft Copyright Amendment Bill (CAB)
[6]
for public comment on 27 July 2015. The CAB proposed a new
section 19D
, under the heading “[g]eneral exceptions regarding
protection of copyright work for persons with disability”. On
16 May 2017,
the CAB was introduced into the National
Assembly as a
section 75
Bill (ordinary bills not affecting
provinces).
[6]
On
28 March 2019, Parliament passed the CAB. On 16 June 2020, the CAB
was referred back to the National Assembly by the President
in terms
of
section 79(1)
[7]
of the
Constitution. The National Assembly’s decision to pass the CAB
has been rescinded and it has been reclassified as
a section 76 Bill
(ordinary bills affecting provinces).
[8]
As a result, section 19D has not been passed into law due to this
lengthy legislative process.
[7]
The
proposed section 19D
[9]
would
allow for the conversion of copyright works into an accessible format
copy, “but which does not introduce changes other
than those
needed to make the work accessible to a person with a
disability”.
[10]
Litigation
history
[8]
Aggrieved
by the inordinate delay of the legislative process, Blind SA
approached the High Court for an order declaring
the
Copyright Act unconstitutional
to the extent that it
unjustifiably limits the rights of persons with visual and print
disabilities. On 7 December 2021,
the High Court delivered
a judgment in which it declared the
Copyright Act to
be
unconstitutional to the extent that it fails to make provision for
exceptions that would enable, through the conversion of works,
access
to such works by persons with visual and print disabilities.
[11]
The application was unopposed.
[9]
The
High Court held that despite the alternative formats available for
blind persons and those with visual and print disabilities,
the
Copyright Act was
restrictive of the free conversion of works
under copyright into alternative formats.
[12]
This meant that the consent of copyright owners was required to
convert works under copyright into formats that enabled persons
with
print and visual disabilities to have equal access to information.
The High Court found the statutory prohibition of the free
conversion
of works to be discriminatory and inconsistent with section 9 of
the Constitution.
[13]
[10]
Furthermore,
the High Court held, that acting in accord with South Africa’s
intent to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty, Parliament
adopted the CAB
which proposes the insertion of section 19D to create exceptions
to the
Copyright Act.
[14
]
[11]
The
High Court also considered the delay in adopting the CAB. It noted
that
section 19D
was not the subject of controversy in
Parliament. The Court found the delay to be unreasonable and
contrary to section 36(1)
of the Constitution as it
unjustifiably perpetuates the violation of the rights of visually and
print disabled persons.
[15]
[12]
Three
amici curiae made submissions before the High Court, namely the ICJ,
MMA and Recreate Action. The amici supported the application
before
the High Court. The ICJ supported Blind SA’s submission
that the
Copyright Act ought
to be aligned with the Marrakesh
Treaty to cure the inconsistency of the
Copyright Act with
the
Constitution and acceptable international standards.
[16]
The MMA argued that the
Copyright Act was
inconsistent with
domestic, regional and international obligations. It made submissions
as to the importance of the recognition
of the right to freedom of
expression and the need freely to receive and share ideas in the
digital era.
[17]
As to
Recreate Africa, the High Court did not find the arguments
made by Recreate Africa to have been of assistance.
[18]
[13]
The High Court declared the
Copyright Act unconstitutional
and made the following order:
“
In
the light of the findings in this judgment and subject to
confirmation by the Constitutional Court the following order is
made:
1.
The
Copyright Act 98 of 1978
is declared
unconstitutional in terms of section [172(a)] of the
Constitution Act, 1996.
2.
In terms of the provisions of section
[172(2)(a)] it is ordered that the provisions of the Copyright
Amendment Bill [B 13B -2017]
,
quoted
in paragraph 9 of this Judgment, ought to forthwith be read as if
specifically incorporated in the provisions of the
Copyright Act of
1978
to remove the inconsistency of the Act with the Constitution.
3.
The operation of the declaration of
unconstitutionality referred to in order 1 is suspended for
period of 24 months to afford
Parliament an opportunity to remedy the
defect [giving] rise to the unconstitutionality.
4.
The
Copyright Act is
, from the date of this
order, deemed to read as if it contains the new proposed
section 19D
contemplated by clause 20 of the Copyright Amendment Bill [B
13B-2017].
4.1.
Pending a decision of the Constitutional Court, in confirmation
proceedings, on the validity of the
Copyright Act; and
4.2
Pending Parliament’s remedying of the defect giving rise to the
unconstitutionality, in the event
the Constitutional Court confirms
the declaration of invalidity.
5.
In the event Parliament does not remedy the
constitutional defect within 24 months of the order of the
Constitutional Court,
the order in 2 above shall continue to apply.
6.
Save in respect of ReCreate, the First
Respondent is ordered to pay the costs of this application which
costs shall include the
costs consequent upon the employment of two
Counsel, where applicable.”
In
this Court
[14]
The
submissions made by Blind SA, the Minister and amici covered a wide
range of issues. These included the need to align the
Copyright Act
with
the Marrakesh Treaty, as well as other International
Agreements such as the Berne Convention,
[19]
TRIPS Agreement,
[20]
the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
[21]
(CRPD) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights
[22]
(ICESCR).
Submissions were also made regarding the possible importation and
export of copyright works for purposes of making accessible
format
copies available to visually and print disabled persons.
Applicant’s
submissions
The
pleaded case
[15]
Blind SA seeks an order declaring
the
Copyright Act unconstitutional
to the extent that it (a) limits
and/or prevents persons with visual and print disabilities from
accessing works under copyright
that persons without such
disabilities are able to access and; (b) does not include provisions
designed to ensure that persons
with visual and print disabilities
are able to access works under copyright in the manner contemplated
by the Marrakesh Treaty.
[16]
In the founding affidavit, Blind SA
submitted that
section 2
of the
Copyright Act lists
types
of original works eligible for copyright in South Africa. These works
include literary works, artistic works, cinematographic
films and a
range of other works under copyright. However, having listed these
works, Blind SA only explains how the
Copyright Act impedes
access to published literary works. The founding affidavit is also
confined to securing the rights of persons with print and visual
disabilities.
Reproductions
and adaptations, and
section 13
and
section 19D
[17]
Blind SA submits that copyright
owners have near exclusive control over the reproduction,
publication, performance, broadcast, transmission
and adaptation of
works under copyright. Unless it falls within a legislated exception,
or is authorised by the copyright owner,
any use of such work is an
infringement of copyright and gives rise to civil and, potentially,
criminal sanction. Therefore, the
legislative framework must provide
an express exception to permit the production of accessible format
copies. The alternative is
that persons with visual and print
disabilities must contact every copyright owner to secure
authorisation to produce accessible
format copies. As a result, so
Blind SA submits, the
Copyright Act unfairly
discriminates
against persons with visual and print disabilities.
[18]
Blind
SA observes that, read together with
section 39(a)
,
[23]
section 13
[24]
of the
Copyright Act empowers
the Minister to make regulations that
contemplate further types of reproduction in respect of works under
copyright. Blind SA submits
that the Minister’s power to
prescribe general exceptions only applies to reproducing works.
Section 13
may not be used to authorise acts beyond this.
[19]
Blind SA argues that this Court has
drawn a clear distinction between the lawful delegation of authority
to make subordinate legislation
and the assignment of plenary
legislative power to the Executive. Therefore,
section 13
should be
interpreted narrowly to avoid the unlawful assignment of plenary
legislative power.
[20]
Additionally, Blind SA submits that
leaving the realisation of the rights of a marginalised group of
people to the whims of the
Minister, in circumstances where he and
his predecessors have failed to act for over two decades, is an
affront to the dignity
of persons with visual and print disabilities.
Therefore, so Blind SA submits,
sections 13
and
39
(a) of
the
Copyright Act do
not provide a statutory basis to afford access
by print-disabled persons to accessible format copies.
[21]
If this Court finds that
section 13
is indeed capable of a broad, constitutionally compliant
interpretation, then
section 13
is limited by its wording, which
only applies to reproductions.
[22]
Blind SA submits that although an
accessible format copy of a work requires reproduction, mere
reproduction does not cover activities
such as distribution and
transmission to the requesting entity. Accordingly, even if
reproduction under the
Copyright Act were
interpreted broadly,
it would still fail to comply with Article 4(1)(a) of the
Marrakesh Treaty which states that—
“
[c]ontracting
parties shall provide in their national copyright laws for a
limitation or exception to the
right of
reproduction, the right of distribution, and the right of making
available to the public
as provided by
the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), to facilitate the availability of
works in accessible format copies for beneficiary
persons.”
(Emphasis added.)
[23]
Thus, an exception granted solely in
respect of reproduction would be inadequate.
[24]
Blind SA further contends that by
impeding access to works, the
Copyright Act limits
a range of
constitutionally-entrenched rights that persons with visual and print
disabilities enjoy. These rights are the rights
to equality, human
dignity, basic and further education, freedom of expression, and
participation in the cultural life of one’s
choice. Blind SA
says that the
Copyright Act, as
a law of general application, is
not justifiable in terms of section 36(1) of the Constitution.
Blind SA submits that
the violation of so many intersecting
rights is ordinarily very difficult to justify and that their
limitation does not serve any
legitimate purpose, as copyright owners
do not stand to lose anything from the relief sought.
[25]
As
to remedy, Blind SA argues that it would be just and equitable for
this Court to exercise its broad remedial powers in terms
of
section 172(1)(b) of the Constitution,
[25]
and read in, with immediate effect, section 19D. Blind SA
submits that a suspension of the order of invalidity is incompetent
because it purports to suspend the operation of an order that is not
in operation in any event.
[26]
Blind SA also responds to the
submissions made by the first amicus, Professor Dean. He opines
that the text of section 19D
cannot operate in the absence of two
definitions that clauses 1(a) and (h) of the CAB seek to insert into
section 1
of the
Copyright Act: “accessible
format
copy”; and “person with a disability”. Blind SA
responds that, to the extent that there may be any
doubt as to what
is meant by “accessible format copy” and “person
with a disability”, regard may be had
to the relevant
definitions in the Marrakesh Treaty. Additionally, Blind SA says
that regard may be had to the treatment of
unfair discrimination on
the basis of disability in various decisions of our courts as also
how disability is defined in other
statutes.
[27]
Alternatively, Blind SA submits that
this Court could, using its powers in terms of section 172(1)(b)
of the Constitution,
make a just and equitable order that the two
phrases, when used in section 19D, bear particular meanings, either
as defined in
the CAB, or in the Marrakesh Treaty. Or in its order,
this Court could also read in the new proposed statutory
definitions
of “accessible format copy” and “person
with a disability”.
[28]
Blind SA contends that section 19D
is not controversial, that the reading-in remedy is effective and
operable and that the proposed
remedy is not at odds with the
Marrakesh Treaty and other international instruments. Blind SA
says that the proposed reading-in
remedy would be effective and
operable, because multiple state parties to the Marrakesh Treaty
do not define the scope of
works to which accessible format shifting
applies within their individual domestic copyright statutes.
Therefore, section 19D
is not an outlier. Furthermore, even in
the absence of the definitions of “accessible format copy”,
“persons
with disabilities” and “a person who
serves persons with disabilities”, the remedy is not vague
because section
233 of the Constitution requires that, where
reasonably possible, legislation must be interpreted in a manner
consistent with binding
international law.
First
respondent’s submissions
[29]
The Minister does not oppose the
confirmation of the declaration of invalidity. The Minister only
makes submissions in favour of
the suspension of the declaration of
invalidity to assist this Court to determine the appropriate remedy.
The Minister submitted
that while it is true that no particular
concern has been raised regarding the constitutionality of section
19D, concerns have
been raised as to whether the section sufficiently
and appropriately defines terms which go to the heart of facilitating
access
of print materials to those who require access. As a result,
Parliament is already considering whether the section requires
amendments
to comply with the Marrakesh Treaty.
[30]
The Minister says also that the
relief sought by Blind SA, namely a final reading in without
suspension of the finding of unconstitutionality,
is inappropriate.
Rather, a suspension coupled with an interim reading in is a
remedy that does not intrude unduly into the
domain of Parliament.
[31]
During oral submissions, the
Minister was referred to Professor Dean’s proposal that a
regulation be promulgated under
section 13 for purposes of allowing
print and visually disabled persons access to copyrighted works. The
proposed
regulation
is titled “[e]xception regarding protection of copyright work
for persons with disability”.
[32]
When asked about this proposed
regulation under section 13, the Minister argued that the
purpose of section 19D is not
only to align the
Copyright Act
with
the Marrakesh
Treaty
and
protect the rights of print and visually disabled persons. According
to the Minister,
section 19D
encompasses a broader government policy
to align the
Copyright Act with
various international obligations and
protect the rights of all disabled persons. The Minister
rejected this proposed
regulation
under
section 13
on the basis that
section 13
is too limited, that the Minister cannot be so directed, and that the
proposed regulation under
section 13
would amount to the
Minister acting
ultra vires
.
First
amicus curiae’s submissions
[33]
Professor Dean submits that the
Copyright Act is
not unconstitutional because
section 13
permits
the Minister to promulgate regulations which would allow for the
reproduction of works under copyright in the manner contemplated
by
Blind SA. Professor Dean contends that the High Court’s
reading in of
section 19D
is inappropriate. He says this
relief was granted on the erroneous assumption that this provision of
the CAB was uncontroversial.
He submits that the Minister and
the Parliamentary Legal Adviser have delivered reports identifying
problems with
section 19D.
Additionally, the Portfolio Committee
published a redrafted version of
section 19D
for public comment.
[34]
Professor Dean submits that
section
19D
is not consistent with the Marrakesh Treaty and creates
various lacunae if the reading-in does not include other provisions
of
the CAB. The various terms that have not
been defined in
section 19D
such as “accessible format
copy” and “persons with disability” mean that the
provision is not self-executing.
He submits that this Court cannot
craft definitions of previously undefined terms because this Court
would be assuming a legislative
role and violating the separation of
powers.
[35]
Professor
Dean contends that
section 19D
, in its current form, does not comply
with the three-step test. In terms of the three-step test,
articulated in Article 13
of the TRIPS Agreement
[26]
and Article 9(2) of the Berne Convention,
[27]
the exception must only cover certain special cases; must not
conflict with the normal exploitation of the work; and must not
unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the owner of
copyright. A provision that permits of blanket access to accessible
format copies of works under copyright must comply with the
three-step test to be consistent with international law.
[36]
Professor Dean proposes a regulation
to be promulgated under
section 13.
The
proposed
regulation is titled “[e]xception regarding
protection of copyright work for persons with disability”.
[37]
Professor
Dean further submits that
an
exception that permitted the reproduction of copyrighted works would
be sufficient to enable the conversion of works into accessible
use
format because the definition of “reproduction”
[28]
is broad enough to incorporate the making of any derivative version
where the reproducer does not add any contribution of their
own, or
change the ideological content of the work. Professor Dean says
conversion to an accessible use format – for
example, braille
entails the reproduction of an existing work into a different format.
There is no change to the content of the
original work during this
process and it is, in essence, a mechanical process which seeks to
present the exact original work in
a new form.
[38]
By contrast, “adaptation”
requires the person making the adaption to embroider on, or
transform, the original work by
making a contribution to the content
of the work. It results in a version which is a new work, that enjoys
its own copyright protection.
Professor Dean provides a
translation as an example, and says, in giving expression to a work
in a different language and
syntax, but retaining the essence of its
ideological content, the translator changes or converts the work and
creates a unique
new work. The translation is an adaption, not a
reproduction.
[39]
Professor Dean concludes that format
shifting only entails reproduction and thus does not require a
broader exception than that
permitted by
section 13.
He submits
further that Article 4(1)(a) of the Marrakesh Treaty expressly
requires state parties to provide for an exception to
the right of
reproduction, but is silent on the right of adaptation. This,
Professor Dean submits, is confirmation that reproduction
(and not
adaptation) is regarded as the relevant activity.
Second
amicus curiae’s submissions
[40]
MMA submits that copyrighted works
often need to be adapted into accessible format copies in order for
them to be usable by persons
with visual and print disabilities.
These accessible format copies include “digital formats that
enable the use of screen
readers”, and may include “adding
audio descriptions to films and broadcasts, as well as subtitles”.
It emphasises
that modifications and adjustments to original works
are required to ensure that persons with visual and print
disabilities can
enjoy and exercise, on an equal basis with others,
their expressive rights and freedoms.
[41]
MMA submits that South Africa’s
current copyright regime is in conflict with the right to freedom of
expression and access
to information and that a balance must be
struck between the rights of copyright and intellectual property
owners and the rights
of all people to access and impart knowledge
and ideas. According to MMA, this balance can be found in the remedy
proposed by Blind SA,
that is, the reading-in of
section 19D
of the CAB.
Third
amicus curiae’s submissions
[42]
The ICJ submits that the
Copyright Act must
, in addition to the relevant copyright
regime, be interpreted in line with international human rights
treaties such as the ICESCR
and the CRPD. It submits that Professor
Dean’s arguments fail to consider South Africa’s
obligations in terms
of international human rights law. It supports a
reading-in of
section 19D
as proposed by Blind SA.
Analysis
[43]
The application before this Court
takes the form of confirmation proceedings. Section 167(5) of
the Constitution stipulates
that this Court—
“
makes
the final decision as to whether an Act of Parliament . . . is
constitutional, and, must confirm any order of invalidity made
by the
Supreme Court of Appeal [or] High Court . . . before that order
has any force.”
[44]
Accordingly, this Court’s
jurisdiction is necessarily engaged.
[45]
In
Phillips
,
[29]
this Court held the following regarding confirmation proceedings that
come before it:
“
Section
172(2) confirmation proceedings are not routine, for
it
does not follow that High Court findings of constitutional
invalidity will be confirmed as a matter of course
.
This Court is empowered to confirm the High Court order of
constitutional invalidity
only
if it is satisfied that the provision is inconsistent with the
Constitution
.
If not, there is no alternative but to decline to confirm the order.
It follows that a finding of constitutional invalidity by
a
High Court does not relieve this Court of the duty to evaluate the
provision of the provincial Act or Act of Parliament in the
light of
the Constitution
.
A
thorough investigation of the constitutional status of a legislative
provision is obligatory in confirmation proceedings
.
This is so even if the proceedings are not opposed, or even if there
is an outright concession that the section under attack is
invalid.”
[30]
(Emphasis added.)
[46]
Accordingly, this Court must conduct
its own evaluation and satisfy itself as to the constitutional
validity of the provisions of
the
Copyright Act that
have been
challenged.
The
pleaded case
[47]
At the outset, it is important to
identify the challenge that Blind SA makes to the constitutional
validity of the
Copyright Act. The
pleaded case in the
founding affidavit is this: the application is brought in the
public interest and on behalf of persons
with visual and print
disabilities. This class of persons is taken to fall within the
definition of “a beneficiary person”
in
Article 3 of the Marrakesh Treaty. A beneficiary person is there
defined as follows:
“
A
beneficiary person is a person who:
(a)
is blind;
(b)
has a visual impairment or a perceptual or reading disability which
cannot be improved to give visual
function substantially equivalent
to that of a person who has no such impairment or disability and so
is unable to read printed
works to substantially the same degree as a
person without an impairment or disability; or
(c)
is otherwise unable, through physical disability, to hold or
manipulate a book or to focus or move the
eyes to the extent that
would be normally acceptable for reading; regardless of any other
disabilities.” (Footnotes omitted.)
[48]
While Blind SA’s submissions
reference the works eligible for copyright listed in
section 2
of the
Copyright Act and
, in general terms, the nature of copyright
protection afforded these works under the
Copyright Act, it
is
literary works that engage Blind SA’s concern. These
works, published in print, include books, magazines, periodicals,
articles, textbooks and other educational materials. Blind SA
observes that copyright in a literary work vests the exclusive
right
to do or to authorise the doing of acts set out in
section 6
of the
Copyright Act. Save
for certain legislated exceptions, the use of
literary works by recourse to acts which the copyright owner has
the exclusive
right to do or to authorise requires the consent of the
copyright owner.
[49]
Blind SA sets out the following
evidence in its founding affidavit before the High Court:
“
The
vast majority of books are published in print, and not in formats
that are accessible to persons with visual (and print) disabilities.
As the [World Intellectual Property Organization] Handbook on the
Marrakesh VIP Treaty explains:
‘
285
million people worldwide are blind or visually impaired. 90% of them
live on low incomes in developing and least developed countries.
Only
1-7% of books are published in a format they can read.’
. . .
According to a Statistics
South Africa census conducted in 2011, 11% of South Africa’s
population lives with visual disabilities
– with 1.7% living
with severe visual disabilities, and 9.3% living with mild visual
disabilities.
. . .
Accessible formats
include Braille, audio versions, or copies of published works in
large print. For electronic versions, they include
digital formats
that enable the use of screen readers. They also include adding audio
descriptions to films and broadcasts, as
well as subtitles.”
[50]
Given
that the majority of published books are not published in accessible
format copies, that is, formats accessible to persons
with visual and
print disabilities, such persons must secure authorisation to convert
books into accessible format copies. This
is difficult, often
impossible, to do. Absent authorisation, the rendering of a
literary work in which copyright subsists
into accessible format
copies would constitute an infringement of copyright under
section
23
, and an offence under
section 27of
the
Copyright Act.
[31
]
[51]
The result is that persons with
visual and print disabilities are denied access to the vast majority
of published literary works
on the basis of their disability. The
Copyright Act is an insurmountable barrier that prevents works
being locally available
in various accessible format copies.
[52]
In
consequence, Blind SA contends that the
Copyright Act limits
the
entrenched rights of persons with visual and print disabilities. The
rights so limited are the rights to equality, human dignity,
basic
and further education, freedom of expression, and participation in
the cultural life of one’s choice.
[32]
The supporting affidavits speak trenchantly of the deprivations
wrought upon persons with visual and print disabilities by reason
of
the scarcity of books in accessible format copies. This, Blind SA
contends, constitutes powerful evidence of the infringement
of these
rights.
[53]
Mr Low is blind. He edits Spotlight,
a publication of public interest health journalism. He describes his
own university education
in which accessible format copies of books
in the university library were often not available because
authorisation from copyright
owners could not be obtained. He
describes the book famine experienced by persons with visual and
print disabilities. Even where
books are available in a format
somewhat accessible to these persons, one such format may not be
converted into another that is
best suited to the user, without
authorisation. This is of particular concern in respect of technical
books. Mr Low also references
the importance of an American
non-profit library service, Bookshare, that has a local library, but
cross border distribution
requires permission from
copyright owners.
[54]
To like effect, Mr Gama, a teacher
at a school for the deaf and the blind, describes how many special
schools across the country
struggle to obtain sufficient textbooks in
accessible format copies. Apart from textbooks, there are often few
books available
to many learners who are blind. This clearly
disadvantages these learners and impairs their dignity. After
learners leave school,
their position is often worse still, lacking
the assistance their schools were able to offer.
[55]
Finally, Justice Yacoob, a retired
judge of this Court, blind since infancy, describes the plight of
poor people with a visual disability
who cannot afford to buy books.
He says this:
“
My
own experience tells me that it is impossible to express in words how
urgent this is. The best I can do is say that every day
that the
present
Copyright Act prevails
in the form in which it is, literally
thousands of blind and visually impaired people are deprived of
reading material, and the
prejudice to them is in fact irreparable,
incalculable, and very difficult to put into words. I would suggest
that even without
it being put into words, the prejudice is obvious.”
[56]
Blind SA goes on to explain that the
limitation of rights that the
Copyright Act brings
about cannot
be justified in terms of section 36 of the Constitution. The
deponent then sets out the relief that is sought.
First, Blind SA
contends that we should declare the
Copyright Act inconsistent
with
the Constitution to the extent that: (a) it limits and/or
prevents persons with visual and print disabilities accessing
works
under copyright that persons without such disabilities are able to
access; and/or (b) it does not include provisions designed
to ensure
that persons with visual and print disabilities are able to access
works under copyright in the manner contemplated by
the
Marrakesh Treaty. Second, suspending the operation of the
declaration of unconstitutionality for a period of 12 months.
Third,
to order “a reading in remedy” that would deem
the proposed section 19D, formulated in clause 20
of the CAB,
presently before Parliament, to form part of the
Copyright Act.
That
deeming would hold good for the 12-month period afforded to
Parliament to remedy the constitutional defect, failing which, the
incorporated
section 19D
would continue to apply. That relief
was amended somewhat by the High Court, as I have indicated.
[57]
Blind SA justifies this relief on
the basis that those whose rights are infringed by the
Copyright Act
require
an immediate remedy. They should not be required to wait for
Parliament to pass into law the remedial provisions that would cure
the constitutional inconsistency of the
Copyright Act identified
by
Blind SA. Nor should that remedial intervention have to await
the broader reformation of the
Copyright Act, so
long delayed in
Parliament. Rather, the proposed reading in of
section 19D
would serve the remedial purpose of giving immediate relief to
persons with visual and print disabilities. Blind SA observes
that
section 19D
was not identified by the President, when he
referred the CAB back to Parliament, as giving rise to constitutional
concerns. This
remedial regime would then permit Parliament to do its
work to pass into law the CAB, and provide the basis for South
Africa’s
accession to the Marrakesh Treaty, but with immediate
relief to those with visual and print disabilities.
[58]
Having considered the submissions
and the relief sought from this Court, the following issues
require consideration:
(a)
What case was pleaded by Blind SA?
(b)
Is the reproduction of a literary work
sufficient to convert the work into an accessible format copy for the
use of persons with
print or visual disabilities, or is an adaptation
of the work also required?
(c)
Does
section 13
of the
Copyright Act cure
the constitutional defects of the Act that Blind SA has raised, and
if not, would a reading in of the proposed section 19D
do
so?
(d)
Is section 19D, if it were to be read-in, a
remedy that extends beyond the pleaded case, and if so, what remedy
should be granted?
[59]
I have set out the challenge made by
Blind SA and the relief that it seeks in some detail. I do so to draw
attention to the issues
that this case raises and those that it does
not.
[60]
First, the case advanced concerns
literary works. It does not traverse access to other works eligible
for copyright. The complaint
is the scarcity of published
literary works in accessible format copies for the use of
persons with visual and print disabilities.
That scarcity is
attributable to the difficulty in securing the required authorisation
of the owners of copyright in literary works
so as lawfully to render
these works into accessible format copies.
[61]
Second,
no case is made out as to the need for access to unpublished
literary works. There is mention made by Mr Low of the
need to
comply with the
Copyright Act so
as to import books in
accessible format copies from abroad, and in particular from
Bookshare in the United States. But no case
is made out as to
precisely how the
Copyright Act prevents
or hampers the importation
of books in accessible format copies into the country, nor, more
generally, how distribution within
the country is affected. The
founding affidavit does not traverse
section 23(2)(a)
of the
Copyright Act
[33
] which
concerns infringement of copyright by any person who imports an
article into the Republic for a purpose other than for his
(the
statutory language) private and domestic use. Nor does it do so in
respect of
section 23(2)(c)
which concerns distribution in the
country.
[34]
Both provisions
have carve outs, the impact of which is unexamined in the founding
affidavit. How the
Copyright Act restricts
imports and
distribution and how such restrictions infringe upon the rights of
persons with visual and print disabilities is so
undeveloped in the
founding affidavit that no case can be said to have been made out on
this score.
[62]
Third, the failure by Parliament to
pass into law the CAB, and, in particular, the failure to legislate
so as to remedy the scarcity
of literary works in accessible
format copies is traversed by Blind SA to explain why it comes to the
courts to seek relief,
rather than awaiting the long delayed
parliamentary process. But no relief is sought to bring under
constitutional review Parliament’s
delay. Nor does Blind SA
question the legality of the Government’s approach to amend the
Copyright Act to
give effect to the Marrakesh Treaty, as a
precursor to its ratification. Mr Low explains how the ratification
of the Marrakesh
Treaty would increase the number of books available
to persons with visual and print disabilities. That may be so, but
how the
Marrakesh Treaty is best domesticated is a matter for
Parliament and not for this Court.
[63]
The case before us is thus a
challenge to the
Copyright Act on
the basis that the exclusive rights
of copyright owners require the authorisation of these owners before
original published literary
works may be made into accessible format
copies for the use of print and visually impaired persons. That
requirement, it is contended,
infringes the identified rights of
these persons. If we should confirm that this is so, then we are
bound to decide what remedy
is required, and what remedy may be just
and equitable, to cure this infringement of rights. Our remedial
remit, however, does
not go beyond the challenge that has been made.
Infringement
and
section 13
of the
Copyright Act
>
[64]
It was common ground between the
parties that, apart from the dispute as to what
section 13
of
the
Copyright Act permits
or requires the Minister to do, the
exclusive rights conferred upon owners of copyright that subsist in
literary works has
drastically restricted the availability of
literary works in accessible format copies for the use of print and
visually disabled
persons. That is so because, on the undisputed
evidence before us, the obligation to secure the authorisation of the
owners of
the copyright in literary works to make published
literary works available in accessible format copies (the requirement
of
authorisation) has led to a scarcity of such works. Whether this
comes about because authorisation is declined or on account of
the
difficulty and delay in identifying those from whom authorisation is
required matters not. The effect is the same. Print and
visually
disabled persons struggle to access literary works in accessible
format copies. Sometimes particular literary works
are not available;
sometimes the format is not optimal. More often, and particularly for
poor persons in this class, the scarcity
is absolute, and few works
are available at all.
[65]
It takes little imagination to
appreciate what that scarcity, relative or absolute, does for the
life chances of those with print
or visual disabilities. That some
have nevertheless achieved substantial success is testament to their
personal fortitude. It detracts
not at all from the reality that
those with print and visual disabilities suffer from a scarcity of
access to literary works that
persons without these impairments do
not.
[66]
This scarcity goes to the heart of
the constitutional challenge that Blind SA brings before
this Court. The protection
that the
Copyright Act affords
owners
of copyright in literary works gives rise to a sharp disparity
between those with print and visual disabilities, and
those who do
not suffer these impairments. Whatever limitations the exclusive
rights conferred by the
Copyright Act may
cause to those without
disabilities who would access literary works, they bear no comparison
to the deprivations suffered by those
with print and visual
disabilities. The rights to incorporeal property that the
Copyright
Act protects
may not become an instrument to disadvantage a class of
persons who have the same need to have access to literary works
that
persons without impairments enjoy. The requirement of
authorisation leads to the scarcity of literary works in accessible
format
copies. That is unfair discrimination on the grounds of
disability that section 9(3) of the Constitution prohibits.
[67]
The same conclusion is reached in
this way. Legislation that protects the rights of copyright owners
must take account of the differential
impacts of such protection upon
different classes of persons. In this case, how the requirement of
authorisation bears upon the
access that persons with print and
visual disabilities have to literary works in comparison to the
access enjoyed by persons
without these disabilities. Where those
with print and visual disabilities suffer great and particular
hardship by reason of the
requirement of authorisation, the
requirement cannot be applied as if all persons who need access to
literary works are similarly
situated, when they are not.
[68]
This reflects a broader principle of
some import. Sometimes, for the state to avoid unfair discrimination,
it must treat people
in the same way or make available the same
entitlements. But sometimes what is required of the state is to
recognise the differences
between persons and to provide different or
more favourable treatment to some, so as to secure non-discriminatory
outcomes for
all. This may appear paradoxical, but it is not, and
cases of persons with disabilities well illustrate this principle.
Well known
examples are these: a person in a wheelchair needs a
ramp to access a public health clinic and a blind person needs a
means by
which they might know when it is safe to cross the road at a
traffic light.
[69]
The same is true in the case before
us. The requirement of authorisation protects the rights of owners of
copyright in literary
works. Parliament has decided that this
protection is warranted. But this does not mean that the requirement
of authorisation can
be applied without regard to the impact of the
requirement upon different classes of persons. To apply the
requirement to all is
to expose those with print and visual
disabilities to the damaging scarcity of literary works. That
constitutes unfair discrimination
and hence the
Copyright Act, to
avoid this discrimination, must apply the requirement of
authorisation with due regard to the differential effect of the
requirement
upon those with print and visual disabilities.
[70]
For these reasons, I find that the
requirement of authorisation in the
Copyright Act would
constitute unfair discrimination on the grounds of disability, and
thus infringes section 9(3) of the Constitution. The enactment
fails
to take account of the effect of the requirement of authorisation
upon persons with print and visual disabilities.
[71]
For like reasons, the challenge made
by Blind SA on the basis of the right to human dignity in terms of
section 10 of the Constitution
is well founded. Access to the vast
universe of knowledge and imagination that is to be found in
literary works is a condition
for advancement. It also promotes
an engagement with the world of ideas, and that is an important
attribute of the well-being of
persons. That those with print and
visual disabilities should be so radically compromised in the access
they enjoy to literary works
by reason of the requirement of
authorisation is to heap indignity upon the adversities these persons
face. The requirement of
authorisation thus infringes the right to
dignity in section 10 of the Constitution.
[72]
So too, persons with print and
visual impairments have their rights to freedom of expression, and in
particular the freedom to receive
and impart information in terms of
section 16(1)(b), infringed by the requirement of authorisation.
The evidence before us
shows that the requirement of authorisation
drastically limits access to literary works, impairs the freedom
to receive information,
and thus, in turn, to impart information. The
requirement also limits the participation of persons with print and
visual disabilities
in the cultural life of their choice.
Literary works are an important source of cultural life. When
access to literary works
is limited, so too are persons affected by
this limitation compromised in their enjoyment of the right to
participate in the cultural
life of their choice. Section 30 of the
Constitution is thus also infringed by the requirement of
authorisation.
[73]
Finally, the evidence marshalled by
Blind SA establishes that those with print and visual disabilities
struggle to secure books
in accessible format copies that they
require for their education. Children, and especially poor children,
cannot secure the textbooks
they require. Others who are admitted to
university cannot access the articles and books they need, a
substantial impairment to
the benefits of a higher education. The
right of persons with print and visual disabilities to basic
education, as set out in section 29(1)(a)
of the Constitution,
is thus plainly infringed. That is also so in respect of the right to
further education protected in terms
of section 29(1)(b) of
the Constitution. Although this right is to be made
progressively available and accessible by the state
through
reasonable measures, there can be little doubt that the relaxation of
the requirement of authorisation in favour of persons
with print and
visual disabilities is a reasonable measure that the state can and
must take.
[74]
In
sum, I find that, subject to what follows as to the powers of
the Minister to permit the reproduction of literary works
in
terms of
section 13
of the
Copyright Act, the
constitutional
rights of persons with print and visual impairments in terms of
sections 9(2)
,
[35]
10,
16(1)(b),
[36]
29(1)(a) and
(b)
[37]
and 30
[38]
have been infringed by the requirement of authorisation in the
Copyright Act as
it applies to make published literary works
available to persons with print and visual disabilities in accessible
format copies.
No case was advanced by the Minister to show that the
limitation of rights is justified. Indeed, the Minister did not
oppose the
application in the High Court, nor before us.
[75]
Professor Dean submits that
section
13
of the
Copyright Act saves
the statute from constitutional
invalidity. His argument is this:
section 39
of the
Copyright Act provides
that the Minister may make regulations as
to any matter required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed by
regulations. One such
matter is set out in section 13. As stated
above, in terms of section 13, in addition to reproductions permitted
by the
Copyright Act, reproduction
of a work shall also be
permitted as prescribed by regulation. Reproduction pursuant to these
regulations may not be in conflict
with the normal exploitation of
the work, nor unreasonably prejudicial to the legitimate interests of
the owner of copyright. The
Minister’s power to regulate under
section 13
is thus bounded by these strictures. Professor Dean
contends that
section 13
empowers and requires the Minister to
promulgate regulations that would permit of the reproduction of
literary works into accessible
format copies for persons with print
and visual disabilities.
[76]
Under
the guidance of this Court’s decisions in
Hyundai
[39]
and
Fraser
,
[40]
we are urged by Professor Dean to interpret the
Copyright Act, if
such an interpretation is reasonably possible, to be in conformity
with the Constitution, so as to give best effect to the rights
at
issue. Such an interpretation is possible, Professor Dean
submits, for two reasons. First, the meaning of reproduction
under
the
Copyright Act permits
of sufficient amplitude to allow
literary works to be rendered into accessible format copies for the
use of persons with print
and visual disabilities. Second,
section 13
, read with
section 39
, confers a power that
the Minister must exercise in the face of the plight of those
with print and visual disabilities. But
in any event, any doubt on
this score may be cured by a mandatory order of this Court
requiring the Minister to promulgate
regulations.
[77]
Blind SA takes issue with the
contentions of Professor Dean. It does so on two principal grounds.
First, to render literary works
into accessible format copies
requires more than reproduction, it also requires adaptation. Second,
to interpret
section 13
as Professor Dean urges us to do,
would amount to an impermissible delegation of an original
legislative power. Blind SA also
submits that the regulatory power
conferred on the Minister does not extend to the import and export of
accessible format copies,
the distribution of these copies, nor the
problem of unpublished works. These additional concerns, however, do
not arise for our
consideration because, as my analysis of the
pleadings demonstrates, they formed no part of a properly formulated
challenge to
the
Copyright Act by
Blind SA.
[78]
I consider first the scope of the
power conferred by
section 13.
That power must be understood within
the scheme of the
Copyright Act. Section
2 provides that
literary works, if they are original, are eligible for
copyright, subject to the provisions of the
Copyright Act. A
literary
work is defined in
section 1.
It includes, irrespective of literary
quality and in whatever mode or form expressed novels, dramatic
works, textbooks and articles,
lectures, dictionaries, tables and
compilations, including compilations of data stored or embodied in a
computer or a medium used
in conjunction with a computer. A literary
work does not however include a computer program.
Section 6
specifies the nature of copyright in literary works. Copyright
vests the exclusive right to do or to authorise the doing of
the
listed acts. Those acts include reproducing the work in any manner or
form and making an adaptation of the work.
[79]
Of importance to the interpretation
of
section 13
is to distinguish reproduction and adaptation, and to
determine what it means to reproduce a literary work. This is so
because
section 13
confers a power, by way of exception, to permit of
the reproduction of a work. The power under
section 13
, as an
exception, cannot permit what the
Copyright Act does
not
otherwise prevent.
[80]
The
Copyright Act does
not provide a comprehensive definition of
reproduction or adaptation. The definitions state what these concepts
include. But what
reproduction and adaptation mean and the
distinction between these acts is not exhausted by their statutory
definitions in
section 1
of the
Copyright Act. In
Media 24
,
[41]
to “reproduce” within the meaning of the
Copyright Act
was
held to mean “to copy”, and—
“
in
order for there to have been an infringement of the copyright in an
original work it must be shown that (i) there is sufficient
objective
similarity between the alleged infringing work and the original work,
or a substantial part thereof, for the former to
be properly
described, not necessarily as identical with, but as a reproduction
or copy of the latter; and (ii) that the original
work was the source
from which the alleged infringing work was derived.”
[81]
Professor
Dean has emphasised the wording of
section 6(a)
which states
“[r]eproducing the work
in
any manner or form
”.
[42]
As to an adaptation of a literary work, that, in part, is to be
understood by reference in the definition of adaptation in
section 1
to “a translation of the work”.
[82]
What then distinguishes the act of
reproducing a literary work from making an adaptation of the
work? Professor Dean submits
that the distinction is this:
reproducing a literary work is to take the work and make a
transcription of it into another
format, without changing its
content. Making an adaptation of a literary work requires some
creative or interpretative engagement
with the text, the consequence
of which changes the content of the work.
[83]
The exact boundary between the
reproduction and adaptation of a literary work is hard to draw.
We know that the translation
of a literary work, by definition,
is an adaptation. That assists us to understand what makes an
adaptation distinctive. Language
is not simply made up of words that
signify identifiable and distinctive things in the world. We well
know this as lawyers. The
very exercise upon which I am engaged is an
effort to arrive at the meaning of a concept. Within a language
community, there are
shades of meaning, and differences that arise as
to what a text means. This is all the more so when we translate a
text from one
language into another. Observe, for example, the stark
differences between modern translations of classical texts, and those
that
were rendered in earlier periods.
[84]
What this illustrates is that a
content-based distinction between reproduction and adaptation will
not always be definitive. When
words are changed in a text, in an act
of plagiarism, we might want to conclude that the text is
nevertheless a copy because there
remains sufficient objective
similarity, and hence the work is a reproduction. However, its
content has, in some measure, also
been changed. An adaptation that
is a translation is not merely a copy because there is an
interpretative engagement with the text
so as to render its meaning.
[85]
It will be apparent that these are
fine grained distinctions, and they are more easily applied in
concrete cases of infringement.
Here we are asked to decide whether
the power to make regulations to permit of the reproduction of
literary works can save
the Copyright Act from
constitutional invalidity. In this endeavour we are greatly
constrained. I grant that, as Professor
Dean has submitted, the
transcription of a literary work that is simply a copy of the
text into another format would qualify
as a reproduction. An example
of this is a book in a hard copy edition that is converted into an
electronic copy. But the issue
before us is whether the rendering of
literary works into accessible format copies for the use of
persons with print and visual
disabilities is also a process of
copying a literary work into another format, and no more.
[86]
On the papers before us, this issue
received little attention. This came about, so Blind SA pointed
out, because Professor
Dean made his intervention before this Court,
and not in the High Court. That may be so, but neither Blind SA
nor Professor Dean
have placed much evidence before us as to the
accessible format copies used by persons with print and visual
disabilities, the
technology used to create these formats, and
whether these formats more closely resemble translations or
transcriptions that are
in effect copies. Much was said in argument
before us on this score. However, argument is not evidence.
[87]
We were left at the oral hearing
debating with counsel whether braille is a language and whether the
transcription of a text into
braille is akin to translation from one
language into another. Other questions arose as to the rendering of a
two dimensional work
into three dimensions; how graphs, tables,
histograms, and pie charts in textbooks and technical articles are
rendered into accessible
format copies, and whether this might
require a textual description, and if so whether this amounts to an
adaptation. Blind SA
raised the issue as to whether a shift of format
that required the written description of a photograph or a picture in
a book was
not an adaptation. So too, books (including e-books) may
include a variety of multi-media presentations. While these may
amount
to artistic works within a literary work, the issue remains as
to whether pictures, photographs, and other multi-media presentations
can be rendered in accessible format copies by merely reproducing
them. This does not seem possible. The form in which such content
appears requires some translation, indeed transformation that
requires interpretation and an effort to render the meaning in
another
accessible format. Additionally, what of the conversion of a
written text into an audio format? Counsel for Blind SA and Professor
Dean were, unsurprisingly, not in agreement as to whether the use of
these accessible format copies amounted to reproducing the
original
work or adapting it.
[88]
These disagreements are not capable
of definitive resolution on the evidence before us. But they
illustrate a point of overarching
significance for the use to which
the regulatory power in section 13 can be put. It is common ground
that the right of a copyright owner
under the
Copyright Act to
authorise the reproduction or adaptation of a literary work
should not prevent the access of literary works in accessible
format copies to print and visually disabled persons. That is the
constitutional infirmity that must be cured. There are many varieties
of literary work, as the definition in
section 1
of the
Copyright Act makes
plain. The layout of these works permits of
numerous permutations. The graphical representations or multi media
presentations
that they may contain are many and varied. The
technologies that are used to render literary works in
accessible format copies
are developing and provide different
solutions for different impediments.
[89]
What this means, as the final
sentence of Article 4(1)(a) of the Marrakesh Treaty
provides is that “[t]he limitation
or exception provided in
national law should permit changes needed to make the work accessible
in the alternative format”.
The exposition of the examples
described above indicates that this cannot, with any measure of
certainty, invariably take place
by way of reproducing literary works
(with their inclusion of artistic works), no matter how generously
that term is reasonably
interpreted. It may well be that some
accessible format copies reproduce the very content of the original
work, and no more. But
others require latitude to use adaptation to
best render the work in an accessible format. There is no
justification to reason
that accessible format copies must be
restricted to reproducing original literary works so as to permit
section 13
to save the
Copyright Act from
constitutional invalidity.
Quite the opposite is true. Those who serve the interests of persons
with print and visual disabilities
should be given the greatest
latitude to produce literary works in accessible format copies and to
develop technologies to do so
that are ever better at rendering the
original work in the best possible way, tailored to the varied
incidents of the impairments
such persons suffer. That requires, as a
matter of probability, the freedom to make adaptations and not merely
reproductions.
[90]
Once that is so, the power conferred
upon the Minister in
section 13
cannot adequately serve to cure
the constitutional invalidity of the
Copyright Act that
I have
identified. It follows that Professor Dean’s defence of the
constitutional validity of the
Copyright Act cannot
prevail. The
statutory right conferred upon copyright owners to authorise the
reproduction and adaptation of original literary works
(and
their inclusion of artistic works) gives rise to the scarcity of
literary works in accessible format copies for those
with print
and visual disabilities, thereby infringing their constitutional
rights. The remit of
section 13
is confined to the reproduction of a
work. That limitation does not secure the freedom that may be
required to ensure that works
are made accessible in the variety of
formats that will best serve those with print and visual
disabilities.
Remedy
[91]
Section 172(1)(a) of the
Constitution requires us to declare that any law or conduct that is
inconsistent with the Constitution
is invalid to the extent of its
inconsistency. I have found that provisions of the
Copyright Act are
inconsistent with the Constitution. The extent to which this is so,
is the first issue to which I now turn.
[92]
The High Court, on this aspect of
the matter, made the following order:
“
The
Copyright Act 98 of 1978
is declared unconstitutional in terms of
section 174(1)
of the Constitution, 1996.” (Emphasis added.)
[93]
As Blind SA correctly observes, this
order neither references the correct provision of the Constitution in
terms of which an order
of this kind is made, nor does it specify the
extent of the inconsistency with the Constitution. Blind SA
prays for an order
to cure these defects in the following terms:
“
The
Copyright Act is
inconsistent with the Constitution of the Republic
of South Africa, 1996 to the extent that it—
2.1
limits and/or prevents persons with visual and print disabilities
accessing works under copyright that
persons without such
disabilities are able to access; and
2.2
does not include provisions designed to ensure that persons with
visual and print disabilities are able
to access works under
copyright in the manner contemplated by the Marrakesh Treaty to
Facilitate Access to Published Works for
Persons Who Are Blind,
Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled;
and in so doing,
unreasonably and unjustifiably limits the rights of persons with
visual and print disabilities to equality, dignity,
freedom of
expression, and basic and further education, and to participate in
the cultural life of their choice.”
[94]
The proposed order is too wide and,
in some respects, imprecise. It is too wide for four principal
reasons. First, it references
all works under copyright. The case
that Blind SA has made out concerns literary works, and, to an
extent, artistic works
that may form part of a literary work.
Second, it would declare that the omissions of the
Copyright Act
fail
to measure up to what the Marrakesh Treaty requires to enable
persons with visual and print disabilities to have access to
published
works. The Marrakesh Treaty is not the standard
against which inconsistency for the purposes of
section 172(1)(a)
is measured. Third, the proposed order stipulates for the declaration
of invalidity of the
Copyright Act, without
identifying the
provisions of the
Copyright Act that
are inconsistent with the
Constitution. Fourth, it fails to specify that the order applies to
published works. No case was made
out for infringements in respect of
unpublished works.
[95]
As to the imprecision of the
proposed order, it does not define what is meant by persons with
visual and print disabilities; and
it references what “access
to works under copyright” means by invoking the Marrakesh
Treaty. The Marrakesh Treaty
is a detailed remedial regime and
has much value, but access requires some definitional precision.
[96]
To
formulate an order that is responsive to the case that Blind SA
has established before us, the following elements should
feature in
the order. The
Copyright Act is
inconsistent with the
Constitution in that sections 6
[43]
and 7
[44]
confer on the
copyright owner the right to do or authorise the doing of
reproducing, in any manner or form, and the making
of an adaptation
of a literary work. This right limits persons with visual and print
disabilities from accessing accessible format
copies of published
literary works and such artistic works as may be included in
these literary works. It does so by
rendering such persons
liable for infringement of copyright under section 23, absent
the authorisation of the copyright owner.
Furthermore, Blind SA has
used the phrase “persons with visual and print disabilities”
to mean a “beneficiary
person” as defined in Article 3
of the Marrakesh Treaty. The adoption of that definition is
useful, but it should
be reflected in the order for the sake of
clarity.
[97]
I have thus framed an order that
covers this ground. This portion of the order will then read as
follows:
“
(2)
It is declared that sections 6 and 7, read with
section 23
of the
Copyright Act 98 of 1978
, are unconstitutional, invalid and
inconsistent with the rights of persons with visual and print
disabilities, as set out in sections
9(3), 10, 16(1)(b), 29(1) and 30
of the Constitution, to the extent that these provisions of the
Copyright Act limit
the access of such persons to published
literary works, and artistic works as may be included in such
literary works,
in accessible format copies.
(3)
A person with a visual and print disability described in paragraph 2
means a person who—
(a)
is blind;
(b)
has a visual impairment or a perceptual or reading disability which
cannot be improved to give visual
function substantially equivalent
to that of a person who has no such impairment or disability and so
is unable to read printed
works to substantially the same degree as a
person without an impairment or disability; or
(c)
is otherwise unable, through physical disability, to hold or
manipulate a book or to focus or
move the eyes to the extent that
would normally be acceptable for reading; regardless of any other
disabilities.”
[98]
As to this Court’s competence
to make an order that is just and equitable in terms of
section 172(1)(b) of the Constitution,
there was considerable
contestation before us. The High Court suspended the declaration
of invalidity for a period of 24 months
to afford Parliament an
opportunity to correct the defect. However, the High Court’s
declaration of invalidity had no
force, pending confirmation by
this Court, and consequently, there was nothing for the
High Court to suspend. That error
is uncontroversial. However,
Blind SA sought to persuade us that this Court should not order
a suspension of any declaration
of invalidity that it might make, but
should rather order that section 19D, presently before Parliament as
clause 20 of the CAB,
should be “read-in” to the
Copyright Act, with
immediate effect. Professor Dean marshalled
reasons why we should not do so. He favoured regulations that the
Minister should be
required to promulgate. I do not consider that
section 13
of the
Copyright Act, for
the reasons given, saves the Act
from constitutional invalidity. Whether the draft regulations
proposed by him have any residual
remedial utility is a matter to
which I shall return.
[99]
This
Court has had occasion to effect an interim reading-in remedy that
enlarged the reach of a statutory offence so as to extend
the
protection of legislation that was otherwise constitutionally
defective.
[45]
In
AmaBhungane
,
[46]
this Court went further still. It weighed the need for an
effective interim remedy and the need to respect the separation
of
powers. It concluded that the egregious and intrusive violation of
privacy rights required immediate redress and ordered that
during the
period of suspension, an additional and extensive provision would be
deemed to be included in the Regulation of Interception
of
Communications and Provision of Communication – Related
Information Act
[47]
(RICA).
[100]
Blind SA urges us to follow suit,
and to deem section 19D to form part of the
Copyright Act. Blind
SA makes the following submissions. First,
section 19D
is
Parliament’s answer to the constitutional defect that we have
confirmed. It remains so. Second,
section 19D
was not the
subject of presidential concern that led the President to send the
CAB back to Parliament. Finally,
section 19D
is Parliament’s
effort to bring the
Copyright Act in
line with the Marrakesh Treaty.
Neither the Speaker of the National Assembly, nor the Minister
opposes the reading-in that
is sought by Blind SA. To the extent
that
section 19D
requires supplementation, this Court may do so,
not least by recourse to the Marrakesh Treaty. Should Parliament in
due course
wish to amend
section 19D
in whatever legislation
finally emerges from the wider parliamentary endeavour to amend the
Copyright Act, the
order of this Court would not prevent
Parliament from doing so.
[101]
Professor Dean points out some of
the hazards that attach to the reading in of
section 19D.
First,
section 19D
is not uncontroversial, and this Court should
exercise care, in effect, to legislate in such circumstances. More
especially
when the provision to be read in is not a narrow
alteration of a statutory regime. Second,
section 19D
is
incomplete and does not define terms of importance; these include
“works”, “accessible format copy”,
“person
with disability” and a person who “serves persons with
disabilities”. According to Professor Dean,
borrowing from the
Marrakesh Treaty will not cure the problem because it leads to
legislative incoherence. Third,
section 19D
requires the
Minister to prescribe by regulation who is a person that serves
persons with disabilities. Therefore,
section 19D
requires
subordinate legislation, and hence its adoption, without more, cannot
take place. Finally,
section 19D
is at odds with the
Marrakesh Treaty.
[102]
The starting point is this: persons
with print and visual disabilities should not have to wait further to
secure a remedy. The parliamentary
process has already taken too
long. The need to address the infringement of rights is pressing.
There must be a remedy granted
that provides immediate redress.
Section 237 of the Constitution places a duty on organs of state that
“constitutional obligations
must be performed diligently and
without delay”. However, Parliament must be afforded an
opportunity to cure the constitutional
defect we have found to exist.
This is so because the remedy that is required fits into a larger
legislative design as to how to
domesticate the Marrakesh Treaty
and harmonise the exceptions that are required with the project under
consideration to revise
the
Copyright Act. This
is a matter properly
left to Parliament. A reading-in by this Court should not deter
Parliament from its ultimate task to
cure the constitutional defect
we have found and integrate a remedy into the wider reformation of
the
Copyright Act. The
declaration of invalidity should thus be
suspended for a period of 24 months to permit Parliament to complete
its work. During
the period of suspension, interim relief must be
afforded to persons with print and visual disabilities. A reading-in
is thus warranted.
The question is what should this reading-in
contain?
[103]
A reading-in remedy must be
carefully tailored to address the constitutional defect that has been
established. To do more is to
trespass upon the constitutional powers
of Parliament. Courts are not elected. Their constitutional mandate
is to provide an effective
remedy that cures a specific defect.
Remedial ambitions beyond this remit make of the courts Olympians,
which they, assuredly,
are not. Blind SA’s ambitious
prayers for relief well illustrate how its justified concern for
parliamentary delay translate
into expansive remedial claims as to
what this Court can and should do. Such claims are to be
assessed with care, indeed caution.
[104]
I reiterate the case Blind SA
brought to this Court. The challenge concerns published literary
works, and, with some generous latitude,
artistic works that may form
part of a literary work. It focuses upon the rights of copyright
owners to authorise the rendering
of such works into accessible
format copies for the use of persons with print and visual
disabilities. Blind SA does not make out
a case in respect of
unpublished works; nor as to the importation and export of literary
works in accessible format copies; nor
as to the domestic legal
regime that would be required to ensure reciprocity under the
Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate imports
of such works; nor, more
generally, as to how best to domesticate the Marrakesh Treaty so as
to permit South Africa to ratify
this treaty; nor as to how the
distribution of these works should best be permitted for persons with
print and visual disabilities.
These matters were addressed, in part,
in argument, and particularly in the contentions advanced as to
remedy. But a case cannot
be reverse engineered from remedy to
rights. The remedy must cure the infringements of rights that have
been established.
[105]
Once the ambit of the case is
properly demarcated, the wholesale adoption of
section 19D
cannot be ordered as interim relief. It covers grounds beyond the
challenge established by Blind SA. It is legislation intended
to
permit South Africa to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty. Whether
it does so adequately is beyond the bounds of the case
before us. At
best, we may permissibly look to the text of
section 19D
, the
relevant provisions of the Marrakesh Treaty, and the proposed
regulation that Professor Dean has framed to determine
what
relief will be effective, in the interim, to cure the scarcity of
published literary works in accessible format copies available
to
persons with print and visual disabilities that is caused by the
requirement of authorisation. That must be done in such a way
so as
to respect the rights of copyright owners that are not implicated in
constitutional infringement, whilst providing an effective
remedy to
cure the identified infringement of rights.
[106]
The interim relief must contain the
following:
(a)
First, the subject of the exception is
published literary works, and artistic works forming part of
these works, that are the
subject of copyright under the
Copyright
Act.
(b
)
Second, those who are to benefit from the
exception must be defined. There is good reason to adopt the
definition of beneficiary
persons in the Marrakesh Treaty, as
Blind SA has done.
(c)
Third, it is necessary to define the scope
of the exception, and, in particular, what it means to permit the
making of an accessible
format copy. The CAB’s definition is
somewhat truncated. Professor Dean’s proposed regulation
offers a definition
that is limited to reproduction, which I have
found to be too restrictive. Again, the Marrakesh Treaty
provides a definition
of “accessible format copy” that is
sufficiently broad to take account of the variety of content and
technologies that
may be used to give beneficiary persons access that
is feasible and comfortable. The definition also recognises the
rights of the
copyright owner to have the integrity of the
original work respected.
(d)
Fourth, and further as to scope, the
exception must be clear as to the right of the copyright owner from
which a derogation is permitted.
It is the right of the copyright
owner to authorise the reproduction or adaptation of the relevant
works.
[107]
Several other aspects are
uncontroversial. Those who would make an accessible format copy of a
work must have lawful access to the
work or a copy of it. The
conversion of the work into an accessible format copy may include any
means needed to navigate information
in the accessible format, but
may not introduce changes other than those needed to make the work
accessible to the beneficiary
person. Accessible format copies are
supplied exclusively to be used by beneficiary persons and such
supply is undertaken on a
non-profit basis. These are all
requirements formulated to protect the rights of copyright owners and
provide targeted relief.
[108]
There remains one important issue
for consideration as to how best to formulate the interim relief.
Plainly, persons with print
and visual disabilities must be assisted
by others to have accessible format copies of the relevant works made
for them. Who should
be authorised to do so? The Marrakesh Treaty,
section 19D and Professor Dean’s proposed regulation
all rely on
the concept of authorised entities, that is, entities
authorised by government. This Court cannot frame an interim order
that requires
the Minister to undertake what amounts to subordinate
law making. That is something only Parliament may require of the
Minister.
[109]
The remedial answer may be somewhat
imperfect, but it is one that endures only until Parliament has
completed its work within the
period of suspension. That answer
permits not only persons who act as agents of beneficiary persons,
but also entities and institutions
that provide education,
instructional training, adaptive reading or information access to
beneficiary persons on a non-profit basis
to make accessible format
copies. This formulation avoids the need for government
authorisation. The entity or institution must
serve beneficiary
persons as one of its primary objects or institutional obligations,
and may not do so for profit. That is adequate
protection for
copyright owners, at least in the interim, given the immediate
imperative of ending the scarcity of books for
persons with print and
visual disabilities.
[110]
I have framed the interim order with
these considerations in mind.
[111]
As to costs, Blind SA has had to
come to the courts to secure relief for print and visually disabled
persons. The Minister did not
oppose the application but sought to
assist this Court to frame appropriate relief. The Minister did not
contest this application
of the
Biowatch
principle that a successful applicant
that comes to court to vindicate the rights of those who have
suffered the consequences of
an unconstitutional statute may look to
the state to pay its costs, even if the state has not opposed the
application. That principle
is not of invariable application but,
without well-founded opposition, it should be allowed in this case.
[112]
In the result, the following order
is made:
1.
The order of the High Court of South
Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria declaring the
Copyright Act 98 of
1978
inconsistent with the Constitution is confirmed to the extent
provided in paragraph 2.
2.
It is declared that sections 6 and 7, read
with
section 23
of the
Copyright Act 98 of 1978
, are
unconstitutional, invalid and inconsistent with the rights of persons
with visual and print disabilities, as set out in sections 9(3),
10, 16(1)(b), 29(1) and 30 of the Constitution, to the extent that
these provisions of the
Copyright Act limit
the access of such
persons to published literary works, and artistic works as may be
included in such literary works, in accessible
format copies.
3.
A person with a visual and print disability
described in paragraph 2 means a person who—
(a)
is blind;
(b)
has a visual impairment or a perceptual or
reading disability which cannot be improved to give visual function
substantially equivalent
to that of a person who has no such
impairment or disability and so is unable to read printed works to
substantially the same degree
as a person without an impairment or
disability; or
(c)
is otherwise unable, through physical
disability, to hold or manipulate a book or to focus or move the eyes
to the extent that would
normally be acceptable for reading
regardless of any other disabilities.
4.
The order of the High Court is otherwise
set aside, save for its order as to costs.
5.
The declaration of unconstitutionality in
paragraphs 1 and 2 takes effect from the date of this judgment and is
suspended for a
period of 24 months to enable Parliament to cure
the defect in the
Copyright Act giving
rise to its invalidity.
6.
During the period of suspension referred to
in paragraph 5, the
Copyright Act shall
be deemed to
include the following additional provisions:
“
Section
13A
Exceptions applicable to beneficiary persons
(1)
For the purposes of
section 13A
—
(a)
‘
accessible format copy’ means
a copy of a work in an alternative manner or form which gives a
beneficiary person access to
the work, including to permit the person
to have access as feasibly and comfortably as a person without visual
impairment or other
print disability. The accessible format copy must
be used exclusively by beneficiary persons and it must respect the
integrity
of the original work, taking due consideration of the
changes needed to make the work accessible in the alternative format
and
of the accessibility needs of the beneficiary persons;
(b)
‘
beneficiary person’ means a
person who—
(i)
is blind;
(ii)
has a visual impairment or a perceptual or
reading disability which cannot be improved to give visual function
substantially equivalent
to that of a person who has no such
impairment or disability and so is unable to read printed works to
substantially the same degree
as a person without an impairment or
disability; or
(iii)
is otherwise unable, through physical
disability, to hold or manipulate a book or to focus or move the eyes
to the extent that would
normally be acceptable for reading
regardless of any other disabilities;
(c)
‘
literary works’ means literary
works as defined in
section 1
of this Act, and shall be taken to
include artistic works forming part of a literary work;
(d)
‘
permitted entity’ means an
entity, including a government institution or non-profit
organisation, that provides education,
instructional training,
adaptive reading or information access to beneficiary persons on a
non-profit basis, and has the provision
of such services as one of
its primary activities or institutional obligations.
(2)
A permitted entity may, without the
authorisation of the owner of copyright in a literary work, make an
accessible format copy of
the literary work; obtain from another
permitted entity, an accessible format copy, and supply those copies
to beneficiary
persons by any means, including non-commercial lending
or by electronic communication by wire or wireless means, and
undertake
any intermediate steps to achieve those objectives,
provided that all of the following conditions are met—
(a)
the permitted entity wishing to undertake
said activity has lawful access to that work or a copy of that work;
(b)
the work is converted to an accessible
format copy, which may include any means needed to navigate
information in the accessible
format, but does not introduce changes
other than those needed to make the work accessible to the
beneficiary person;
(c)
such accessible format copies are supplied
exclusively to be used by beneficiary persons; and
(d)
the activity is undertaken on a non-profit
basis.
(3)
A beneficiary person, or someone acting on
their behalf, including a primary caretaker or caregiver, may make an
accessible format
copy of a work for the personal use of the
beneficiary person or otherwise may assist the beneficiary person to
make and use accessible
format copies where the beneficiary person
has lawful access to that work or a copy of that work.”
7.
The Minister of Trade, Industry and
Competition shall pay the applicant’s costs in this Court,
including costs of two counsel.
For the
Applicant:
J Berger, F Veriyava and T Moosa instructed by SECTION 27
For the First
Respondent:
N Rajab-Budlender SC and R Tulk instructed by State Attorney,
Pretoria
For the First Amicus
Curiae:
I Goodman
and D Linde instructed by Adams and Adams
For the Second Amicus
Curiae: M Power
instructed by Power Singh Incorporated
For the Third Amicus
Curiae:
M Z Suleman and
S Mdletshe instructed by Equal Education Law
Centre
[1]
98
of 1978.
[2]
Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons
Who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled,
27
June 2013.
[3]
10
of 2013.
[4]
See
Dean
Handbook
of South African Copyright Law
(Juta & Co Ltd, Cape Town 1987).
[5]
The
term “persons with print and visual disabilities” also
includes blind persons.
[6]
[B
13B-2017].
[7]
Section
79(1) states that “[t]he President must either assent to and
sign a Bill passed in terms of this Chapter or,
if the
President has reservations about the constitutionality of the Bill,
refer it back to the National Assembly for reconsideration”.
[8]
Blind
SA describes how the reclassification of the CAB means that—
“
it
will be subject to several additional parliamentary and provincial
legislative processes, including a rigorous public participation
process, before its finalisation. At the provincial level, it may
even open up to debate provisions of the CAB in respect of
which no
concerns were raised by the President.”
[9]
The
proposed section 19D reads as follows:
“
(1)
Any person as may be prescribed and that serves persons with
disabilities may, without
the authorization of the copyright owner,
make an accessible format copy for the benefit of a person with a
disability, supply
that accessible format copy to a person with
disability by any means, including by non-commercial lending or by
digital communication
by wire or wireless means, and undertake any
intermediate steps to achieve these objectives, if the following
conditions are
met:
(a)
The person wishing to undertake any
activity under this subsection must have lawful access to the
copyright work or a copy of
that work;
(b)
The copyright work must be converted into
an accessible format copy, which may include any means necessary to
create such accessible
format copy but which does not introduce
changes other than those needed to make the work accessible to a
person with a disability;
and
(c)
The activity under this subsection must be
undertaken on a non-profit basis.
(2)(a)
A person with a disability, or
a person that serves persons [with]
disabilities, to whom the work is communicated by wire or wireless
means as a result of an
activity under subsection (1) may,
without the authorisation of the owner of the copyright work,
reproduce the work for
personal use.
(b)
The provisions of paragraph (a) are without prejudice to any other
limitations or
exceptions that the person referred to in that
paragraph may enjoy.
(3)
A person with a disability or a person that serves persons with
disabilities may
without the authorization of the copyright owner
export to or import from another country any legal copy of an
accessible format
copy of a work referred to in subsection (1), as
long as such activity is undertaken on a non-profit basis by that
person.
(4)
The exception created by this section is subject to the obligation
of indicating
the source and the name of the author on any
accessible format copy in so far as it is practicable.’’
[10]
Id.
[11]
Blind
SA v Ministry of Trade, Industry and Competition
2021 JOL 52197
(GP) (High Court judgment) at para 28.1.
[12]
Id
at paras 4-5.
[13]
Id
at para 6.
[14]
Id
at para 10.
[15]
Id
at para 11.
[16]
Id
at paras 18-9.
[17]
Id
at para 23.
[18]
Id
at para 26.
[19]
Berne
Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, 9
September 1886. The Berne Convention has since been revised.
[20]
The
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights,
15 April 1994.
[21]
Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 13 December 2006.
[22]
International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 16 December 1966.
[23]
Section
39(a) states that “[t]he Minister may make regulations as to
any matter required or permitted by this Act to
be prescribed
by regulation”.
[24]
In
terms of section 13, “[i]n addition to reproductions permitted
in terms of [the
Copyright Act] reproduction
of a work shall also be
permitted as prescribed by regulation, but in such a manner that the
reproduction is not in conflict
with a normal exploitation of the
work and is not unreasonably prejudicial to the legitimate interests
of the owner of the copyright.”
[25]
Section
172(1) of the Constitution states:
“
When
deciding a constitutional matter within its power, a court—
(a)
must declare that any law or conduct that is inconsistent with the
Constitution
is invalid to the extent of its inconsistency; and
(b)
may make any order that is just and equitable, including—
(i)
an order limiting the retrospective effect of the declaration of
invalidity;
(ii)
an order suspending the declaration of invalidity for any period and
on any
conditions, to allow the competent authority to correct the
defect.”
[26]
Article
13 of the TRIPS Agreement states that “[m]embers shall confine
limitations or exceptions to exclusive rights to
certain special
cases which do not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work
and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate
interests of the
right holder.”
[27]
Article
9(2) of the Berne Convention states that—
“
[i]t
shall be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to
permit the reproduction of such works in certain special
cases,
provided that such reproduction does not conflict with a normal
exploitation of the work and does not unreasonably prejudice
the
legitimate interests of the author.”
[28]
Section
1(1)
of the
Copyright Act states
that—
“
reproduction,
in relation to—
(a)
a literary or musical work or a broadcast, includes a reproduction
in the form of a record or
a cinematograph film;
(b)
an artistic work, includes a version produced by converting the work
into a three dimensional
form or, if it is in three dimensions,
by converting it into a two dimensional form;
(c)
any work, includes a reproduction made from a reproduction of that
work.”
[29]
Phillips
v Director of Public Prosecutions
[2003] ZACC 1; 2003 (3) SA 345 (CC); 2003 (4) BCLR 357 (CC).
[30]
Id
at para 8.
[31]
These
sections set out under which circumstances copyright will be
infringed
(section 23)
and stipulate the penalties and proceedings
in respect of dealings which infringe copyright
(section 27).
[32]
Sections
9, 10, 16, 29 and 30 of the Constitution.
[33]
Section
23(2)(a)
of the
Copyright Act states
that—
“
copyright
shall be infringed by any person who, without the licence of the
owner of the copyright and at a time when copyright
subsists in a
work: (a) imports an article into the Republic for a purpose other
than for his private and domestic use.”
[34]
Section
23(2)(c)
of the
Copyright Act states
that—
“
copyright
shall be infringed by any person who, without the licence of the
owner of the copyright and at a time when copyright
subsists in a
work distributes in the Republic any article for the purposes of
trade, or for any other purpose, to such an extent
that the owner of
the copyright in question is prejudicially affected.”
[35]
Section
9(2)
states:
“
Equality
includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms. To
promote the achievement of equality, legislative
and other measures
designed to protect or advance persons, or categories of persons,
disadvantaged by unfair discrimination may
be taken.”
[36]
Section
16(1)(b)
states that “[e]veryone has the right to freedom of
expression, which includes freedom to receive or impart information
or ideas”.
[37]
In
terms of
section 29(1)(a)
and (b)—
“
[e]veryone
has the right (a) to a basic education, including adult basic
education; and (b) to further education, which the state,
through
reasonable measures, must make progressively available and
accessible.”
[38]
Section
30
states that “[e]veryone has the right to use the language
and to participate in the cultural life of their choice, but no
one
exercising these rights may do so in a manner inconsistent with any
provision of the Bill of Rights”.
[39]
Investigating
Directorate: Serious Economic Offences v Hyundai Motor Distibutors
(Pty) Ltd: In re Hyundai Motor Distributors (Pty)
Ltd v Smit NO
[2000]
ZACC 12
;
2001 (1) SA 545
(CC);
2000 (10) BCLR 1079
at para 23.
[40]
Fraser
v Absa Bank Ltd
[2006]
ZACC 24
;
2007 (3) SA 484
(CC);
2007 (3) BCLR 219
(CC) at para 47.
[41]
Media
24 Books (Pty) Ltd v Oxford University Press Southern Africa (Pty)
Ltd
[2016]
ZASCA 119
;
[2016]
JOL 36649
(SCA)
at
para 12.
[42]
Emphasis
added.
[43]
Section
6
provides a list of actions that a copyright owner is vested with
the exclusive right to do or authorise in respect of literary
and
musical works.
[44]
Section
7
provides a list of actions that a copyright owner is vested with
the exclusive right to do or authorise in respect of artistic
works.
[45]
Centre
for Child Law v Media 24 Ltd
[2019]
ZACC 46
;
2020 (4) SA 319
(CC);
2020 (3) BCLR 245
(CC) at
paras 114-126.
[46]
AmaBhungane
Centre for Investigative Journalism NPC v Minister of Justice
and
Correctional Services
[2021]
ZACC 3
;
2021
(3) SA 246
(CC);
2021
(4) BCLR 349
(CC)
at
paras 136-149.
[47]
70
of 2002.
sino noindex
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