A group of prominent South African individuals, trade unions and non-profit organisations have urged president Cyril Ramaphosa to sign the draft Copyright Amendment Bill and Performers\u2019 Protection Bill into law.<\/p>\n
The open letter – published by the Mail & Guardian<\/a><\/strong> – includes signatories such as the former justice of the Constitutional Court Zak Yacoob and Umunyana Rugege, executive director of Section27.<\/p>\n They argue that the legislation is vital for the promotion of inclusive economic growth, broadening access to education and creating jobs in South Africa.<\/p>\n “There is a great deal of innovation and investment into South Africa that is being deterred by failure to sign the nills,” the letter states.<\/p>\n “Technology companies require a balanced approach to copyright to invest in new growth sectors such as artificial intelligence.”<\/p>\n The groups also argue that the rights of several groups are being denied by the failure to allow the bills to pass into law. These include that:<\/p>\n “We feel it would be harmful and detrimental to our country for you to allow further time to elapse before passing the bills into law,” the letter states.<\/p>\n Controversy<\/strong><\/p>\n The proposed legislation is a point of significant controversy because it could damage South Africa’s trade relations with the US as it is seen to violate terms of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) under the US Trade Act.<\/p>\n The Office of the United States Trade Representative is now holding public hearings<\/a><\/strong> in Washington D.C. on South Africa\u2019s eligibility for the GSP programme.<\/p>\n The country\u2019s eligibility for the GSP programme has been called into\u00a0question<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>as a result of the passing of the Copyright Amendment Bill in parliament last year.<\/p>\n\n