Cape Town - The Constitutional Court has unanimously confirmed a high court ruling that the Copyright Act of 1978 is unconstitutional for limiting access to reading materials in accessible formats for persons who are blind or visually impaired.
The Constitutional Court judgment released yesterday relates to the landmark case brought in May this year by activists from Blind SA and Section 27 about access to books for people with visual disabilities.
The crux of the matter concerned Blind SA’s contention that the Copyright Act limits the availability of works under copyright in formats accessible to persons with print and visual disabilities.
The Copyright Act requires the consent of the copyright owner to convert works into formats suitable for the use of persons with print and visual disabilities.
As a result, such persons suffer severe limitations in accessing works under copyright that persons without these disabilities do not encounter.
In a unanimous judgment penned by Acting Judge David Unterhalter, the Constitutional Court ordered Parliament to remedy the constitutional invalidity of the current act within 24 months.
As an interim relief the court has read-in, or included, a provision that immediately permits blind or visually impaired persons to convert books into accessible formats without requiring the authorisation of the copyright holder.
Celebrating the judgment, the activists said it had vastly and immediately improved access to books in accessible formats for blind people.
They said the judgment also vindicated their rights to equality, dignity, basic and further education, freedom of expression, language and participation in the cultural life of one’s choice.
Blind SA chief executive Jace Nair said: “We are ecstatic that we have a judgment that provides for the exceptions that we have been advocating for.
“We would like to thank the Constitutional Court for recognising the impact this violation has had on the lives of blind and partially sighted persons for decades.”
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za