Vansa Copyright Amendment Bill [B13-2017]

The Visual Arts Network of South Africa welcomed the opportunity to make a submission on the Copyright Amendment Bill made available for comment by the Portfolio Committee of Trade and Industry and developed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). We limited our comments largely to those areas of the document that have direct relevance for the visual arts sector, and which we have some limited competence to address based on our work in this area – this is limited primarily to sections 9A-F Artist’s Resale Right (ARR).

VANSA recognises the overall objective of the Copyright Amendment Bill as first and foremost to protect and support the livelihoods of creators of artistic works, as well as for a development agenda so that these works may be well used by the South African and international populace. VANSA sees this as a commendable objective of the DTI and made the submission with intention to support these objectives. ARR are undoubtedly a concrete strategy towards ongoing support of artists’ livelihoods and if managed carefully can play a productive and valuable role for all stakeholders in the visual arts sector.

VANSA made a submission to the DTI in 2015 and is pleased to see that a number of our concerns were taken into consideration and is thankful for the work done by the DTI. This includes:

• communal rights for some artworks
• reciprocity for international sales
• some steps towards clarity on rate of royalty

The further issues noted in VANSA’s submission are a reinforcement of some concerns still not full addressed, but that we feel are pivotal to the successful role of the Bill.

For VANSA’s full submission to the Portfolio Committee of Trade and Industry on 28 June 2017, click here.