by VDT Attorneys | Mar 25, 2026 | Copyright, Copyright for Influencers, Copyright protection for creators, Trade marking of catchphrases, Trade marks
The recent success of Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey in trade marking his catchphrase “alright, alright, alright” has reignited global debate about whether catchphrases, and even voices, fall within the scope of trade mark protection. This raises an important...
by VDT Attorneys | Feb 25, 2026 | Constitutional Court, Copyright, Copyright Amendments, Copyright protection for creators, Copyright protections for users with disabilities, Intellectual Property
The Bill introduces specific safeguards and oversight mechanisms to prevent exploitation. These measures focus on digital security, guaranteed financial returns, and structural oversight of the industry. Herewith, a summary of some of the mechanisms introduced by the...
by VDT Attorneys | Nov 22, 2022 | Copyright, Disability, Unconstitutional, Visual impairment
In this case Blind SA brought an application challenging the constitutionality of several provisions of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978 (“Copyright Act”). Blind SA claimed that the Copyright Act restricted the conversion of works that were copyright protected to formats...
by VDT Attorneys | Jul 15, 2022 | Copyright
In our digital age the accessibility to literature, music and other creative works has increasingly blurred the lines of acceptable use and rightly begs the question of how far does South African copyright law protect our local authors and creators. In South Africa,...
by VDT Attorneys | Jul 14, 2017 | Copyright, Intellectual Property
The latest revised Copyright Amendment Bill was published on 16 May 2017 (“Copyright Bill”). The Copyright Bill aims to address concerns raised in respect of the previous draft Copyright Amendment Bill published in 2015. Although some concerns have been addressed,...
