The Cultural and Creative Industries Federation of South Africa (CCIFSA) says it will embark on a peaceful march to the Gauteng Legislature in Johannesburg on Friday.
The aim of the march is to voice concerns over the Copyright Amendment Bill.
Members of the federation argue that the clause “Fair Use” in the Bill would create legal uncertainty.
Chairperson of the federation, Chola Makgamathe, says the clause would also allow large foreign companies to exploit South African workers without paying royalties or obtaining permission.
“On Friday, we going to have a peaceful protest where we gather as the creative industry and march to the legislature and hand over a memorandum, because this is where we have reached. They are not listening to us. We have followed the right channels and we have complied with the processes. We (are) not acting outside of the processes but now we are exercising our rights to bring our matter to the core which is critical to the creative industries.”
Disastrous for SA artists
The internationally renowned singer and songwriter, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, says enacting the Copyright Amendment Bill in its current form would be disastrous for South African artists.
Chaka Chaka was speaking during a media briefing that the federation hosted in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
“If we sign this bill in its current state, it’s going to be disastrous. It’s not that we don’t want the bill to be signed, but we are saying to the president, the people and the powers that be, look at it, so that we don’t go back after 10 years, to have our children who want to be in the creative industry still having the same problems. Let’s fix it now…and I would have wished for the president and Parliament to have included us when this bill was written.”
VIDEO | Artists to protest against Copyright Amendment Bill:
