State of the Nation Address: We call on President Ramaphosa to send the Copyright Amendment Bill to Parliament
12 February 2020
[Note to Editors: The Copyright Coalition of SA comprises:
the Independent Black Filmmakers Collective (IBFC), The Music Publishers Association of South Africa (MPASA), The Publishers Association of South Africa (PASA), Academic and Non-Fiction Authors of South Africa (ANFASA), Printing SA (PIFSA), Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA), RiSA Audio Visual (RAV), Dramatic, Artistic, Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO), Writers Guild of South Africa (WGSA), Audio Militia, Animation SA, Trade Union for Musicians of South Africa (TUMSA), Musicians Association of South Africa (MASA), Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO), Composers, Authors and Publishers Association (CAPASO) and the Visual Arts Network of South Africa (VANSA)]
When President Ramaphosa delivers his State of the Nation Address in Parliament this week, he would do well to announce some positive news amidst the doom and the darkness.
On Thursday, the President has an ideal opportunity to announce at SONA that he will send the Copyright Amendment Bill back to Parliament for reconsideration. This will bring much-needed relief to the many South Africans worried about the Bill’s impact on intellectual property rights and our beleaguered economy.