Investigating musical copyright infringement: Examining International Understandings of Musical Copyright Infringement for Potential Adaptation into South African Copyright Law

Abstract

This thesis examines international approaches to musical work copyright infringement law for the purpose of establishing an approach that can be utilised effectively under the South African copyright infringement framework. In doing so, the importance of the various interactive elements of musical works is investigated as well as the modes of assessment in infringement scenarios. The findings are used to create a robust middle-ground approach to be adapted into the South African copyright infringement framework. Further considerations that impact infringement outcomes are addressed to the extent that they are contextually relevant. These include a discussion of research undertaken on the continent regarding the relationship between creators and the music-related copyright regime as well as the role that exceptions and limitations play in infringement outcomes.