Publishers’ association of south africa

Intellectual property lies at the very heart of the publishing and printing industries. This Report should therefore provide the foundation for many of the core initiatives that need to be undertaken before the industry sector can exploit its full potential in delivering the sector’s social and economic goals.
Instead of seeing themselves merely as book publishers, publishers could see themselves as acquirers, custodians and managers of intellectual property rights in the process of exploiting these rights to the best advantage of themselves, authors and users. With this wider view of who publishers are and what they do, they may come to see that that is their business even though it currently mainly takes the form of publishing books.
More than just legislation
This Report cannot just be about legislation and infringement. Copyright is so central to industry development that issues of legislation and infringement cannot be divorced from development agendas. Policy approaches in countries studied recognise the need to create a climate of respect for intellectual property. It is important that copyright policy initiatives be linked to broader national policies for national development in the knowledge economy.
In developing countries, it is particularly important that legislation does not undermine the local creative industries and that steps taken to protect the right of access to information do not erode the viability and vitality of indigenous authors and publishing industries.
The argument that provision for broad exceptions, allowing for permission-free copying, is the best way to serve the needs of rights users in the country and contribute to developmental objectives is not sustained by a review of the provisions of other developing countries’ legislations.
The broad recommendations of the Report are that:
 The print industry sector needs to become more active in forging alliances both within the industry sector and with other copyright industries to promote copyright issues and to lobby for national policy initiatives and legislative reform. (recommendation 1)

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  However, the industry sector cannot achieve this alone. Active government engagement is needed, in a transparent and consultative process, to ensure the creation of an effective copyright regime that will
  

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  Foster the growth of the copyright industries;
  

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  Provide an effective framework for information and knowledge dissemination to meet national needs; and
  

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  Provide an enabling context for South Africa’s international trade negotiations. (recommendation 2)
  

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  If the print industries are to make their maximum contribution to the country and its cultural and economic growth, attempts to improve the copyright framework in South Africa will need to be linked to:
  

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  Active programmes for the growth of a reading culture;
  

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  Support for and promotion of the rights of authors;
  

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  Educational programmes on the value of copyright; and
  

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  The expansion of library services. (recommendation 3)
  

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  From the perspective of industry strategy, this could include:
  

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  Initiatives to produce information and raise the profile of copyright issues;
  

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  The promotion of training in copyright for publishers and rights owners; and
  

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  Active interaction with readers and consumers to promote the value of copyright and copyright compliance. (recommendation 4)
  

Effective Copyright

A strong copyright regime contributes to the economic, cultural and educational strength of the country:

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  Effective copyright protection ensures that creators are given due recompense for their efforts and encourages creative production.
  

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  Copyright provides a framework for the dissemination of knowledge and creative work. It is about enabling access to creative works and knowledge products, rather than preventing access, as is often perceived.
  

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  With the rapid globalisation and growth of digital media, an effective copyright regime is the essential underpinning of a country’s participation in the global information economy.
  

BACKGROUND – THE PRINT INDUSTRIES SECTOR

The Report identifies the stakeholders in the copyright industries that could participate in consultation processes. Rights owners include creative content creators; publishers; freelance workers; distributors and suppliers of products and services. Collecting societies are also important industry sector participants. Rights users, or consumers, include general readers, learners and educators, and libraries.
Getting organized locally
International experience suggests that developmental goals for the growth of the copyright industries and for the provision of the knowledge and information needs of the country are best achieved by the promotion of local industries. This could be done by addressing a number of issues: