09 March 2019 - 08:38There has been a recent uptick in criticism of the Copyright Amendment Bill coming out of publishing companies and collective management organisations , such as the piece by Mpuka Radinku,CMOs, such as the SA Music Rights Organisation and the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation , are entities that collect copyright royalties but are regularly criticised for not paying creators.
The Copyright Amendment Bill will increase the bargaining power of creators, libraries, museums, schools, people with disabilities, and others, in their relationships with publishers and collective management organisations The bill red flags their failure to pay royalties and negotiate fair contracts with their members. Instead of considering the benefits in the bill, their exaggerated claims in the media are causing panic among authors and creators.Claims that favouring creators in copyright reform will harm the economy are not supported by the experiences in countries that have adopted fair use.