Principles of copyright in intellectual property law: An overview

Abstract

The aim of this article is to introduce readers to the legal regime that exists to protect intellectual property rights. The article focuses on South African law, but the nature of intellectual property rights is such that one country cannot develop legal protections without taking the global perspective into consideration. It is generally regarded as lawful to learn from others and virtually no country gives the creator of an idea a perpetual and all-inclusive property right in it against imitators. But there comes a time when the learning process oversteps the mark and imitators ‘attempt to reap where they have not sown’. This has serious implications for developing countries where stringent enforcement of intellectual property rights can lead to a denial of access to vital information. The aim of intellectual property law is therefore to strike a balance between the rights of the creator and the rights of citizens to learn from the experience of others. Whether or not this balance has been achieved is a matter of ongoing debate and concern.