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Wartenweiler Circulation And General Services Guide: Copyright Guidelines

A Guide to the Main Services of the Wartenweiler Library

Copyright And Related Matters

Its more fun staying on the right side of the publications laws!

Copyright Guidelines for Students and Staff of Wits University

Copyright: An Introduction

Copyright is a 'bundle' of exclusive rights, given to authors and creators, to protect their original works (i.e. literary, musical and artistic works, cinematograph films, sound recordings, published editions and computer software). It is not the 'right' of the user to copy!

 Authors and creators have these exclusive rights in terms of the SA Copyright Act No. 98 of 1978 (as amended):-

  • To reproduce the work in any manner or form;
  • To publish the work if it has not been published before;
  • To perform the work in public; To broadcast the work;
  • To cause the work to be transmitted in a diffusion service;
  • To make an adaptation of the work

(These activities also apply to adaptations)

Copyright provides an incentive for creativity and a means of financial compensation for authors and creators of intellectual property.

To have copyright protection, a work must be in a material format.

Ideas do not have copyright protection - only the expression of those ideas is protected.

There is no copyright in facts, the news of the day, or in political speeches. Authors however, have the exclusive right to make a collection of their speeches.

For expert direction on Copyright Issues, kindly refer to:

Mrs Denise Nicholson

Email:denise.nicholson@wits.ac.za