Appendix 6 - International Music Council

Addendum 3
MITT Recommendations
LEGISLATION: COPYRIGHT
Needletime 17
Under the current legislation, performers enjoy no copyright protection – this right is
confined to composers and authors. The lack of protection for performers is out of
keeping with international trends in which needletime regulations are increasingly the
norm. South Africa’s non-accession to the Rome Convention is similarly anomalous.
The absence of needletime legislation is one of the key obstacles to the development of
local music and the music industry. 18
Recommendation 1:
The draft amendment of the Standing Committee on Intellectual Property regarding
needletime should be implemented without delay. The MITT has agreed that no further
public consultation on the needletime issue is required.
The MITT is unanimous in its concern about the length of time that this issue has been
under discussion. It recommends that time frames be incorporated into the amendment of
the Act 19 , providing for negotiations between the broadcasters on the one hand and the
producers and performers on the other hand, regarding the establishment of the
appropriate rate. Should agreement not be reached within the stipulated time period, the
Minister of Trade and Industry is asked to intervene.
The Minister of Trade and Industry is asked to appoint a permanent Copyright Tribunal
that would be essential to the ongoing wellbeing of the industry. The Copyright Tribunal
should be asked, if necessary, to arbitrate the initial negotiations between broadcaster and
17 Needletime is also referred to as the broadcast right. It gives musicians (in their capacity as performers)
the right to receive remuneration when their repertoire is either played on radio or performed live
amounting to a Public Performance Right. This right can impact on income for musicians and expenditure
for broadcasters both domestically and internationally. It was removed from South African Copyright
legislation in 1965. Amendments to relevant legislation is currently under review by the Department of
Trade and Industry in Government Gazette No.21156, published on 10 May 2000 .
18 No broadcaster made a submission to the MITT. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) was
approached to make a written submission or to present at one of the five regional hearings. The NAB
declined on the grounds that its views had been communicated through the needletime-related hearings of
the DTI.
19 There is a minority view that the time restriction should be at the discretion of the Minister rather than
written into the Act.
490