Copyright Act 1999, Fair Dealing for Reporting Current Events
Copyright Act, 1999 (Act No. 11 of 1999), s. 41
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As of 6 September 2026.
What this law does
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The Act received assent on 19 March 1999. Section 1(2) provides that it commences on a date or dates the Minister appoints by notice in the Gazette, rather than upon assent, and no specific commencement notice has been located.
Copying a work for the purpose of reporting current events by means of a sound recording, audio visual work, broadcast, or cable programme does not infringe copyright in the work, and copying a work other than a photograph for that purpose by any other means does not infringe copyright if the copy is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement.
Neither subsection creates a blanket exception for a news aggregator's routine reproduction of headlines or extracts; the dealing must still be fair dealing directed at reporting current events, judged on the specific facts.
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Official English text, Copyright Act, 1999 (Act No. 11 of 1999), reproduced by WIPO Lex
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