In recent days, a federal jury ordered two media companies to cough up a total of $1,2 million in damages to a freelance photojournalist pursuant to their unauthorised usage of his Twitter photographs.

In today’s modern era of media and technology, it is quite surprising that the South African law on copyright and intellectual property has fallen behind its international counterparts, as it still does not provide for technological developments such as the internet.

South Africa’s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (“CCMA”) has accepted in recent cases that employees may be dismissed for posting false, derogatory remarks about their employers or employers clients on Facebook, Twitter or other social networks or blogs, as these posts might harm the ongoing employment relationship, bring the employers name into disrepute and may equate to a form of misconduct.

Endemol South Africa (“Endemol SA”) produces Big Brother Africa, a successful pan-African reality television program.

The newly formed Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (“CIPC”), established “with the aim of promoting growth, employment, innovation, stability, good governance, confidence and international competitiveness.”

Endemol Netherlands owns all rights in a very successful reality television series called “Big Brother”.  In 2003, Endemol South Africa (“Endemol SA”) produced the pan-African of the Big Brother series for broadcaster M-Net / MultiChoice Africa. 

In the fast paced and ever changing society in which South Africans live and work, we are constantly bombarded with advertising via different media such as television, billboards and radio.