The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, appointed a panel of six members Copyright Review Commission (CRC) in November 2011 to review the concerns raised by the creative industry regarding the collection and distribution of royalties to artists. The CRC, which is chaired by a retired judge Ian Farlam, started operating on 1 February this year.
Since the establishment, the CRC has already collated a lot of information from various sources, including government departments. It is also involved in desktop research that will help identify some of the best models for collecting and distributing royalties to rightful owners of work.
In March, the CRC published a call for public comments. The closing date for public comment was 31 March 2011. To date the CRC has received 24 written submissions mainly from big institutions in the creative industry, which the CRC is currently considering. In addition to written comments received, the CRC will also be conducting public hearings in all 9 provinces as follows:
- 10 May 2011 Cape Town
- 11 May 2011 Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth
- 12 May 2011 Kimberley and Polokwane
- 13 May 2011 Mbombela
- 16 May 2011 Mafikeng
- 17 May 2011 Johannesburg 2
- 19 May 2011 in Durban.
Other details will be published in the media as well as on the dti website. The CRC will be setting up various interactive channels such as Facebook, Twitter and other social media to promote its activities to the public and facilitate wider participation by stakeholders.
The CRC is making a call to all stakeholders including artists’ organisations, community arts and culture groups, non-governmenta organisations (NGOs), artists’ agents, and all interested parties to get involved and contribute and make their voice heard on these issues. Artists and various players in the industry are encouraged to make their input through these channels as well.
For more information contact:
Mamosa Dikeledi
Tel: 012 394 1680
Cell: 083 584 6856
E-mail: MDikeledi@thedti.gov.za
Source: Department of Trade and Industry
