ConCourt hands down temporary order amending Copyright Act favouring the blind and visually impaired

JOHANNESBURG - The Constitutional Court has handed down an interim order temporarily amending the Copyright Act to allow blind and visually impaired people to convert literary works without the authorisation of the owner of the work.  

The apex court handed down the order on Friday after the organisation, Blind SA, hauled the president to court.  

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Blind SA, represented by Section27, launched an urgent application in the Constitutional Court after President Cyril Ramaphosa failed to sign the Copyright Amendment Bill by 21 September.  

This marked the expiry of a court-ordered deadline imposed on the president two years ago by the same court.  

The Constitutional Court has again found in favour of blind and visually impaired persons.  

In a previous matter in 2022, the court declared the Copyright Act unconstitutional and invalid to the extent that it discriminated against persons who are blind and visually impaired and prevented their access to reading materials.  

However, the court suspended its declaration of invalidity and ordered Parliament to remedy the defects within 24 months.  

That two-year period ended in September, and the Copyright Amendment Bill has still not been signed into law by Ramaphosa.  

Therefore, the reading-in that the apex court had provided as an immediate solution lapsed, leaving blind and visually impaired persons unprotected.  

With the resuscitation of the temporary amendment, blind and visually impaired persons will be legally protected, pending the finalisation of the matter.  

The court added that it will provide its reasons at a later stage.