Dear Honourable Mente

During a National Assembly Programme Committee meeting on 5 September, you expressed concern about the status of the Copyright Amendment Bill, which has been waiting to be signed into law since 29 February 2024 when it was passed by both Houses and sent to the President. Your words were that the Bill "affects people's lives directly" and that "we need to know how do we move from there".

In his capacity as parliamentary counselor to the President, the Honourable Koornhof's answer was vague and made no mention of the Bill itself.

In fact, there is a Constitutional Court deadline by which clauses in the Bill dealing with access to copyright protected material by the blind and visually impaired should come into force. The deadline is 21 September 2021, four days from now.

Stakeholders need to know if Parliament has approached the Court for an extension. In that regard, you may find this article useful: https://legalacademy.co.za/news/read/copyright-amendment-bill-uncertainty-abounds-as-gnu-treads-water.

Perhaps you could raise the issue again when the committee meets on 19 September 2024.

Sincerely
Pam Saxby