Ugu creative industries on Copyright and Performers Bills

The Cultural and Creative Industries Federation of South Africa (CCIFSA) in Ugu has written to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) regarding the Copyright and Performers Protection Amendment Bills.

CCIFSA Ugu secretary, Lindani Mkhize, said the Copyright Amendment Bill does not regulate all cultural and creative industry value chain such as recording companies, publishers, promoters, actors’ agencies and musician managers, saying that the Performers Protection Amendment Bill must regulate those stakeholders.

The Committee on Trade and Industry, Economic Development, Small Business Development, Tourism, Employment and Labour recently invited interested people and stakeholders to submit written comments on the two Bills.
In Mkhize’s submission, he said when it comes to the sharing of royalties, it is going to be very difficult to share them with extras, people who are contracted to appear once or twice in the film or song,

“Hence we support once off payment. Distribution of royalties, we fully reject for collecting societies to keep money of the performers up to six years. The royalties must be distributed within six months and if it happens that collecting societies can’t distribute one way or another, the money must be kept in the Cultural and Creative Industry Development Fund controlled by organised formations representing the performers. The Copyright Amendment Bill must have a provision which establishes the Development Fund. We don’t want fair use in South Africa, we want fair deal and we don’t know who decided to take it out in the Copyright Act as it was there before and also in the recommendations made by the Copyright Review Commission, there is no recommendation on changing or replacing the Fair Deal with fair use. Lastly, there is no social economic impact study done by the DTIC or DTIC portfolio committee on how fair use will impact on South African creatives,” said Mkhize.
He added that the Copyright Amendment Bill does not recognise the cultural and creative industry organisation including their role in protecting performers, authors and composers’ rights.

He said there must be a clause inserted which define the role which need to be played by organised formations in protecting and supporting their members.

He added that these organisations will ensure that the collecting societies do account within, even before the matter can be referred to the tribunal, it must start with organised formations.

Mkhize said: “The information on royalties collected must be shared with organised formations including sharing of the distribution list. The Copyright Amendment need to state how constitutions of collecting society must be audited and what role will be played by organised formation in ensuring that collecting societies are accountable to the industry. Organised formation shall also represent their members and the legislation must ensure that the organised formations are sitting on such a board. The Copyright Amendment Bill must have a provision where there is a private copy levy, for all those equipment, instruments which can download music, and pay such a levy in the Development Fund.”
He added that the tribunal is led by a judge, saying that they see no reason why the leading judge must work with other judges only in the panel when dealing with cultural and creative industry disputes.
Mkhize said they recommend that the cultural and creative industry experts like entertainment lawyers, copyright lawyers and industry experts to be included on the panel.

“The Performers Protection Amendment Bill, gives powers to the minister who is not well informed about the cultural and creative industries to lead status and regulates contracts of different industries. We reject that and we call upon the amendment of this contract clause to read as follows: Contracts of different industries must be determined by different industry organisations as they are involved on a daily basis with their respective industries, they know their members and their industry more than the minister. This can be also done through the industry’s different self-regulatory bodies which can develop standard contracts and be able to amend them from time to time and also develop standards and code of conduct,” said Mkhize.

He added that in the Protection of Performers Bill through a self-regulatory body, the performers are not protected against the music managers, actors’ agencies, publishers, recording companies and promoters who are reaping and abusing performers.
“Secondly the bill is not protecting other creatives, it only focuses on performers. Therefore, we need industry ombudsman in a form of an industry self-regulatory body or bodies to protect the interest of all stakeholders within the cultural and creative industry stakeholders. Therefore, we appeal to the committee for the establishment of an industry self-regulatory body or bodies to deal with industry issues in partnership with industry organised formations, since the industry value chain is not protected by the bill. Industry Organised Formations: The bill is about the industry organised formations including their role, therefore we recommend that a clause to be introduced within the bill which will define the role of organised formation in protecting the entire industry value chain stakeholders not only the performers. Among organised formation roles to unite, protect and transform the industry through self-regulatory bodies, this includes dealing with disputes. The bill shall define the industry federation and sector councils and specify their role as Cooperative Act do with cooperative secondary cooperatives and tertiary cooperatives, as Labour relations act do with trade unions and federations, as National Sport and Recreation Act do with sport federations and the South African Boxing Act do with boxing bodies for amateur to professionals,” he said.

He added in terms of Cultural and Creative Industry Commission, the bill needs to have a clause which informs the creation of the Cultural and Creative Industry Commission and its purpose is to ensure that the industry is transformed. Also, to ensure that there is effective and efficient administration of the professional creative industry in South Africa and to act as a coordinating body for the development of the cultural and creative industry in the Republic.

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