To celebrate Unesco’s International World Book and Copyright Day on 23 April, an annual event that promotes reading and highlights the importance of creative ownership, we bring you an infographic on the basic concepts of copyright.
In a digital age, when original ideas can move rapidly around the world within seconds, it is important that creators in all forms of media – music, film, art and books – understand the intricacies of controlling how their intellectual property is used, and making sure they are properly compensated for their original ideas.
Illegal downloading and digital piracy are just some of the more notable ways that copyright can be violated. Plagiarism, unlawful appropriation and the illegal selling of media is a significant problem, in not only a technological sense, but also at a very real, grassroots level, particularly in South Africa and the rest of the continent.
