Copyright law of South Africa

The copyright law of South Africa governs copyright, the right to control the use and distribution of artistic and creative works, in the Republic of South Africa. It is embodied in the Copyright Act, 1978 and its various amendment acts, and administered by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission in the Department of Trade and Industry.

As of July 2025 a major amendment to the law in the Copyright Amendment Bill, B13F of 2017, had been approved by the South African Parliament in February 2024, but the President referred it to the Constitutional Court in October 2024 for concerns about, amongst others, the constitutionality of its "fair use" clause and its exceptions for translation, education and libraries. The Constitutional Court's hearing of the President's referral, in May 2025, heard arguments from the President, two political parties (the Democratic Alliance and the Freedom Front Plus) and numerous interested persons and organisations.

South Africa is a party to the Berne Convention and the TRIPS Agreement. It has signed, but not ratified, the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. It has not signed or acceded to the Marrakesh Treaty for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled.

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