United States of America

South Africa

Copyright and Related Rights

(c) The answer to this question seems to indicate that South African copyright law grants full retroactive protection to existing works, subject only to the qualification in Section 43(a)(ii). Please explain then why the answer also states that "the retroactivity of South African law is a very complex issue".

The complexity of the retroactive provisions of the South African Copyright Act brought about by Section 43 is due to several factors. Interpreting Section 43(a)(ii) could require having recourse to copyright legislation dating from 1916 and even earlier and this same legislation has a bearing on the interpretation of Section 43(a)(ii) of the Act in terms of which the continuation of old copyright is regulated. The complexity is amply illustrated by the judgement in Appleton v Harnischfeger (referred to in the answer). In short, in dealing with the copyright in works made prior to 1965 one must have regard to the provisions of repealed copyright laws and to the interaction of laws with the provisions of the Copyright Act of 1978. This point will also be dealt with further in dealing with the follow-up questions to question 5.