South AfricaCopyright Act, general exceptions for quotation and news reporting
In force since .
A snippet reproduction rule binding private bodies.
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- Hot news
What it requires
- You may deal fairly with a literary or musical work to report current events in a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, or by broadcast, if you mention the source and the author.
- You may quote from a literary or musical work lawfully available to the public, including a newspaper or periodical article as a press summary, if the quotation is compatible with fair practice, does not exceed what the purpose justifies, and mentions the source and author; no fixed length cap applies beyond that test.
- You may reproduce or broadcast an article on a current economic, political or religious topic published in a newspaper, periodical or broadcast, if the reproduction has not been expressly reserved and you clearly mention the source.
- You need not license official texts of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, political speeches, or news of the day that are mere items of press information: no copyright attaches to them.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
What this law does
Section 12(1)(c) permits fair dealing with a literary or musical work for the purpose of reporting current events in a newspaper, magazine, or similar periodical, or by broadcast, provided the source and author are mentioned.
Section 12(3) permits quoting from a literary or musical work lawfully available to the public, including a quotation from a newspaper or periodical article in the form of a press summary, provided the quotation is compatible with fair practice, its extent does not exceed what the purpose justifies, and the source and author are mentioned; the provision carries no fixed headline-length or short-extract cap distinct from this fair-practice test.
Section 12(7) permits reproducing or broadcasting an article on a current economic, political, or religious topic published in a newspaper, periodical, or broadcast, if the reproduction has not been expressly reserved and the source is clearly mentioned.
Section 12(8)(a) removes copyright altogether from official texts of a legislative, administrative, or legal nature, speeches of a political nature, and news of the day that are mere items of press information, so no copyright ever attaches to such content in the first place.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app reuses other publishers' content.
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