Hello everyone,
I just wanted to let you all know that Wikimedia ZA will be presenting the
case to Parliement for Freedom of Panorama to be included into the new
copyright act on the 3rd August (next week Thursday) at 10:55-11:35am.
Please let me, or Andre', know ASAP if you are in Cape Town and would like
to attend the public hearings. Details are attached to this email.
Quick side update, on Monday the 24th and yesterday Tuesday the 25th I was
given the opportunity to attend an event hosted by Google on the issue of
Fair Use and its inclusion into the new version of the South African
Copyright act. At the event Wikimedia ZA was given the chance to present
our case for Freedom of Panorama to a broader audience in Johannesburg on
the topic. This included representatives from civil society, the creative
industries, the tech sector, the legal fraternity, and government. I got
the feeling that people were very receptive for the call for Freedom of
Panorama in South Africa and there was much interest on subject.
If you are unfamiliar with our effort to get Freedom of Panorama in South
Africa you can check out the page we made on Wikimedia Commons explaining
the situation here:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Panorama_ZA
Thanks and best regards,
Douglas.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Andre Hermans <ahermans(a)parliament.gov.za>
Date: 25 July 2017 at 10:13
Subject: Re: Processing of the Copyright and Performers' Protection
Amendment Bills
Dear Stakeholder
We acknowledge receipt of your submission.
Attached please find the draft programme for public hearings scheduled for
1, 3 and 4 August 2017 on the Copyright A/B only .
Stakeholders are requested to note the following:
1. Confirm attendance by 13:00 on Wednesday, 26 June 2017.
2. Prepare a +/- 20 min power-point presentation in support of their
submission which will be followed by a 20 min engagement.
3. Submit their power-point presentations by 12:00 pm on Monday, 30 June
2017.
4. Submit the names of the their delegation, which should include
designations, as well as the cell number of a contact person.
5. Preferably be in attendance from the start of proceedings, but if it is
not possible, participants should be present at least an hour before their
presentation to allow for any changes.
6. Stakeholders should bring a copy of their ID, driver license or passport
to gain entry to Parliament, which is via the visitor's entrance located in
Plein Street.
7. No parking is available in Parliament.
8. All hearings are open to the public and there is no limit on numbers,
but note that there are seating limitations
9. If there are any changes to your power-point presentation, and it does
not reach us the day before your presentation, you are required to bring 40
copies of your amended document to the hearing.
10. All submissions and not only the oral submissions are considered by the
Committee and take into account during its deliberations on the Bill.
Please do not hesitate to contact me via email or sms if you have any
queries.
*NB: It would be appreciated if you can forward this email to other
stakeholders.*
*Please confirm receipt.*
*Regards,*
*André*
*0837098482 <083%20709%208482>*
>>> Andre Hermans 6/28/2017 9:49 AM >>>
Dear Stakeholder
Please note the following:
In light of a recent Committee decision to first process the Copyright
Amendment Bill before starting the Performers' Protection Amendment Bill,
please note the following:
1. Public hearings in August 2017 will only be on the Copyright Amendment
Bill.
2. An extension for submissions has been granted. All submissions should
reach us by Friday, 7 July 2017. Please indicate whether you would wish
to be considered to make an oral submission.
3. Public hearings have been scheduled for 1, 3 and 4 August 2017. Although
we will try to accommodate your preferred date as far as possible, this
cannot be guaranteed due to demand and time constraints. The final decision
for granting oral submissions lies with the Committee. All written
submissions are considered by the Committee in its deliberations.
4. Communication regarding the final programme for public hearings will be
communicated in the week of 24 July 2017.
Please do not hesitate to contact me via email if you require further
clarity.
*NB: It would be appreciated if you can forward this email to other
stakeholders*.
Regards,
André R Hermans
Committee Secretary: PC Trade and Industry
Tel: (021) 403 3776 <021%20403%203776>
Fax: 0866527753 <086%20652%207753>
Cell: 0837098482 <083%20709%208482>
email:ahermans@parliament.gov.za
>>> Andre Hermans 6/2/2017 4:48 PM >>>
Dear Stakeholder
In light of the Committee decision taken on Tuesday, 30 May 2017 please
note the following;
1. No public hearings on 27, 28 and 29 June 2017.
2. Closing date for submission is Friday, 30 June 2017.
3. Public hearings will be scheduled in August 2017.
4. Final dates for public hearings will be communicated by 30 June 2017.
*Clarity with regard to public participation at briefings.*
All meetings are open to the public but please note that during a briefing
the interaction is between the Department and Members. The purpose of the
briefing is to afford Members with the opportunity to engage the Department
on the content of the Bill. Members of the public in attendance can first
hand hear the Department's views on the Bill and, if they have opposing
views on what the Department is saying, can include their concerns in their
submissions. It also provide an opportunity for stakeholders to get clarity
on issues of concern during such briefings.
Public participation in the legislative process is critical to ensure an
open and robust process and Parliament has taken the necessary steps to
ensure this. Because of the great public interest in the Bills the
Committee has called for submissions and will scheduled public hearings
affording stakeholders with the opportunity to express their opinion on the
Bill.
Attached is the revised advert.
Please do not hesitate to contact me via email if you require
further clarity.
*NB: It would be appreciated if you can forward this email to other
stakeholders*.
Regards,
André R Hermans
Committee Secretary: PC Trade and Industry
Tel: (021) 403 3776 <021%20403%203776>
Fax: 0866527753 <086%20652%207753>
Cell: 0837098482 <083%20709%208482>
email:ahermans@parliament.gov.za
>>> Andre Hermans 5/26/2017 1:50 PM >>>
Dear Stakeholder
Attached please find the following information with respect to the
processing of the Copyright and the Performers' Protection Bills.
1. An advert calling for submissions on the Copyright Bill.
2. A copy of the Bill.
Please note the following:
1. The hearings scheduled for 27, 28 and 29 June would be on both the
Performers' Protection and the Copyright Amendment Bills.
2. All meetings in Parliament are open to the public, unless otherwise
stated. This pertain to the briefing on 30 May 2017 and the public hearings.
3. Members of the public should use the visitors entrance in Plein Street
and should have a copy of their ID, driver license or passport to gain
entry.
4. There is no limited on the number of people that may want to attend.
5. There is no need to secure a seat as it is an open meeting.
6. Please indicated whether you wish to make an oral submission as well.
Please note that decision to allow for an oral submission is the
Committee's and it would be base on the submission.
*NB: It would be appreciated if you can forward this email to other
stakeholders*.
Regards,
André
>>> Andre Hermans 5/25/2017 4:55 PM >>>
Dear Stakeholder
Please be informed that Committee has scheduled to receive a briefing on
Tuesday, 30 May 2017 on the Copyright Amendment Bill.
Time: 09:00 - 13:00
Venue, Room E249, Second Floor, New Assembly Wing, Parliament, Cape Town.
Regards,
André
>>> Andre Hermans 5/22/2017 1:08 PM >>>
Dear Stakeholder
Attached please find a copy of the Copyright Amendment Bill that was
introduced in Parliament.
Information regarding processing of the Bill, including the Performers
Protection Amendment Bill, will be communicated to stakeholders in due
course.
*NB: No dates have yet been confirmed for processing of both Bills. *
It would be appreciated if you could forward this email to other
stakeholders.
Regards,
André
>>> Andre Hermans 2/15/2017 1:51 PM >>>
Dear Stakeholder
Please be informed that the Committee meeting scheduled for Friday, 17
February 2017 to receive a briefing on the Performers' Protection Amendment
Bill has been postponed until Tuesday, 21 February 2017.
*As a result of this postponement the public hearings on the Bill will now
take place on 24 and 28 February 2017.*
Our apologies for the inconvenience caused.
Regards,
André
>>> Andre Hermans 2/14/2017 1:56 PM >>>
Dear Stakeholders
Please be informed that the Committee is in the process of finalising its
programme with respect to the public hearings scheduled for 21 and 24
February on the Performers' Protection Amendment Bill.
Please note, that in finalising the programme for the public hearings, we
will take into account requests to make a submission on a specific day.
It's our objective to forward the draft programme to stakeholders by 15:00
on Wednesday, 15 February 2017.
Regards,
André
>>> Andre Hermans 1/17/2017 12:56 PM >>>
Dear Stakeholders
Attached please find the advert that was place over the weekend of 6-7
January 2017 in the newspapers calling for submissions on the Performers
Protection Amendment Bill. Adverts were place in all official languages.
Also attached is a copy of Bill as tabled.
It would be appreciated if you could forward this email to other
stakeholders.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries.
Regards,
André R Hermans
Committee Secretary: PC Trade and Industry
Tel: (021) 403 3776 <021%20403%203776>
Fax: 0866527753 <086%20652%207753>
Cell: 0837098482 <083%20709%208482>
email:ahermans@parliament.gov.za
___________________________________________________________________________
Please note: This email and its content are subject to the disclaimer as
displayed at the following URL: https://www.parliament.gov.za/
email-disclaimer ______________________________
_____________________________________________
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727
Hi Jack,
Thanks for the heads up on this and sharing it with us. I hope other
members of the Wikimedia/Wikipedia community in South Africa will also give
their input on this very important task/feedback that will determine the
movements strategy for the next couple of years. It is an issue that I
know many of us feel is very important.
Cheers and all the best,
Douglas.
On 23 July 2017 at 13:39, Jack Rabah <jrabah(a)wikimedia.org> wrote:
> Hi Douglas and all,
>
> I hope you are all well. I'm excited to reconnect with the South African
> community during next month's Wikimania in Montreal. Cape Town Wikimania is
> not too far away either.
>
> I’m reaching out because, as we finish the last cycle of the Movement
> Strategy process, I wanted to let you know what is coming in the next few
> weeks and what I will humbly ask from you. This will be a busy time for all
> of us, and I want to make sure the voice of your organization continues to
> be heard and represented.
>
> After all the activity of the past few months, the time has now come to
> summarize what we have learned and discussed, and create a document that we
> can agree on as a movement. A small team is leading the writing process, in
> partnership with contributors. The process is very much one of co-creation,
> similar to how we write Wikipedia articles.
>
> My goal isn’t just for you to agree with the final text, but also to
> co-author it so that you can see a strategic direction that you believe in
> when the process is over.
>
> *In the next few days, I will point you to an early and incomplete draft.*
> I hope that you can review it and share your thoughts. There will also be a
> broad review in August that is open to the entire community, but I want to
> make sure you see it early and that you know you can contact me about it if
> you had any questions.
>
> By the end of August, we will hopefully agree on the text. Whether you
> edit the page directly on Meta, comment on the talk page, or prefer to send
> your thoughts to me in private, I want to encourage your organization to
> participate in this process before the draft is finalized at the end of the
> month.
>
> When the text is finalized at the end of August, I will ask for Wikimedia
> South Africa's signature on it. The goal is for all of us to show our
> agreement and support for this shared direction by endorsing the document
> together.
>
> Other groups, including the Wikimedia Foundation, will be encouraged to
> sign it. This is why it is very important that you take time to read the
> document, discuss it within your organization, and ask questions; I want to
> make sure that you know you have an open line of communication through me
> into the strategy team if you want it.
>
> I hope you find a way to participate in this process. As always, please do
> not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions about the process
> or how to make your voice heard.
>
>
> *Please also take a look at this document for more details and
> information:* Endorsement process FAQ
> <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E3G0WvhmXmDjC2PZGMoxWNaroqjDvp91y3xEBQQ…>.
>
>
> Looking forward to your thoughts and feedback.
>
> Thanks,
> Jack
>
>
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727
Hello everyone,
Just in case an email I sent earlier did not go through because of a pdf
attachment I have sent this one as well.
Yesterday Wikimedia South Africa made a written submission to the
parliament of South Africa urging that a Freedom of Panorama clause be
included in any new version of the South African Copyright Act. We are
hoping to give an oral testimony before parliament so as to explain why
such a clause should be included into the act.
You can also see the submission on commons at the link here:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_ZA_submission_to_
the_Parliementory_comittee_on_Trade_and_Industry_-_7_July_2017.pdf
Both the Wikimedia ZA board
<http://wikimedia.org.za/wiki/Board_Meeting_12_December_2016> as well as
the broader editing community
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_South_Africa#Copyr…>
in
South Africa voted unanimously to for us to advocate for Freedom of Panama
in South Africa. In support of this effort we also ran a banner campaign
(see landing page here
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Panorama_ZA>) on Wikipedia
in South Africa which collected 720 petition signatures
<https://www.change.org/p/ahermans-parliament-gov-za-freedom-of-panorama-in-…>
.
Hopefully we will be given a chance to present to Parliament in early
August on the matter just before this year's Wikimania in Canada.
Regards,
Douglas.
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727
Hello everyone,
I thought you might all be interested in this judgement (read forwarded
email below) from Sweden regarding the copyright of public works of art.
Particularly this photograph
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APoseidonstatyn_i_G%C3%B6teborg_04…>
of
a public statue outside the Gothenburg museum. It seems as though, due to
a lack of freedom of panorama, Wikimedia SE was sued and subsequently
ordered to pay around US$78,000 for hosting images of public works of art
via Wikimedia Commons.
Fingers crossed we get Freedom of Panorama in South Africa soon following
the submission to Parliament.
Cheers,
Douglas.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mattias Blomgren <mattias.blomgren(a)wikimedia.se>
Date: 7 July 2017 at 20:41
Subject: [WM-Chairpersons] Judgment i BUS v. Wikimedia Sverige case
To: Internal mailing list for the Wikimedia's affiliations chairpersons <
chairpersons(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Dear all,
I have to inform you that Wikimedia Sverige yesterday received the judgment
from the Swedish Patent and Market Court in our case against BUS
(Bildupphovsrätt i Sverige), an organisation representing artists. We
unfortunately lost the case and the court order reads as follows:
- The Patent and Market Court enjoins Wikimedia Sverige, under a penalty
of a fine of SEK 100 000, to - by communication to the public - make the
representations (pictures) in Exhibit 1-3 of the works available during the
remaining term of protection for the works.
- The Patent and Market Court declares that Wikimedia Sverige is obliged
to pay reasonable remuneration to Bildupphovsrätt i Sverige ek.för. with
respect to the communication to the public of the representations
(pictures) in Exhibit 1-3 via the website offentligkonst.se from
December 19, 2013 and compensation for any additional damage caused by the
infringement.
- Wikimedia Sverige shall compensate Bildupphovsrätt i Sverige ek.för.
for litigation costs in an amount of SEK 647 759, whereof SEK 562 200 for
attorneys’ fees, together with interest in accordance with section 6 of the
Swedish interest act (1975:635) from today until payment is made.
The case has last since 2014, when we were sued by BUS, and in April 2016
the Swedish Supreme Court decided not in our favour, but the case was then
handed back to the Patent and Market Court for final court order. Our
lawyers have argued that the images don’t reside on our server
offentligkonst.se, but are linked from Wikimedia Commons. This is not
acceptable, according to the court.
We have now removed all links to images of public art where copyright still
remains, but have kept the images of art in public domain. The consequences
for Wikimedia Commons is not yet clear, and we have contact with Wikimedia
Foundation’s legal team, who are now awaiting a translation of the court’s
judgment (26 pages).
We have sent out a press release via various channels. We have started a
crowdfunding campaign in order to get money to pay the litigation costs and
remuneration to BUS according to the court order.
In the press release, we state that the problem with the judgment is that
it is not allowed to share images of public art, art which is placed in the
public space, in parks, squares and paid by the tax payers’ money. The
outcome is tragic, as the art is no longer as accessible and public as it
used to be. Our goal has been to give the art the visibility it deserves.
It is very strange that in a digitalized world it is not allowed to share
images digitally, if a public art can be seen on the image. Our opinion is
that the law must be changed.
We don’t see that the judgment will impact Wikimedia Sverige’s ordinary
projects, as they are funded via special project funding. As we have been
aware that the outcome of the case could be what we now have faced, we have
saved some money during the last years, but of course we need money from
our supporters for this case.
Link to our press release: https://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/wikimedia-sverige/
pressreleases/domslut-krymper-det-offentliga-rummet-i-sverige-2054679
The image shows the most famous statue in Gothenburg outside the Gothenburg
museum of fine art, but now hidden in black. The original image can be
found on Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/
wiki/File%3APoseidonstatyn_i_G%C3%B6teborg_04.JPG
Link to the website offentligkonst.se
Kind regards
Mattias Blomgren
Chairman Wikimedia Sverige
_______________________________________________
Chairpersons mailing list
Chairpersons(a)lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/chairpersons
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727
Hello everyone,
Ivo Kruusamägi, the organiser of the Wiki Science Competition
<http://www.wikisciencecompetition.org/> internationally (it will take
place in November 2017), would like to know if anyone in South Africa is
interested in heading up the organisation of the competition in South
Africa? If you are interested then please let me know.
Best regards,
Douglas.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ivo Kruusamägi <ivo.kruusamagi(a)gmail.com>
Date: 17 June 2017 at 05:05
Subject: wiki science competition
To: info(a)wikimedia.org.za
Hi!
Science photo competition is coming again in this November: http://www.
wikisciencecompetition.org/
Based on the last competition in 2015 it's reasonable to assume that there
could be ca 10 000 participants and over 50 000 submissions this time. But
to really pull that off, there's a need to find enough local organizers who
would take care of local country-based sub-competitions.
The task is relatively simple: there has to be someone, who would promote
the competition locally and set up a jury to select the local winners.
Any interest in Wikimedia South Africa about organizing this competition?
Regards
Ivo Kruusamägi
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727
Hi Douglas,
I'm unable to become an ongoing champion of this in any way but I
immediately thought of the Science Education Centre in Salt River. I don't
know anyone there - I just walk past every now &* then. I'd be willing to
reach out to them, would you (or anyone else) be interested in joining?
-M
On Monday, July 3, 2017, <wikimediaza-request(a)lists.wikimedia.org> wrote:
> Send WikimediaZA mailing list submissions to
> wikimediaza(a)lists.wikimedia.org <javascript:;>
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
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> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
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>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
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>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of WikimediaZA digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Fwd: wiki science competition (Douglas Scott)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2017 11:47:51 +0200
> From: Douglas Scott <douglas.i.scott(a)gmail.com <javascript:;>>
> To: wikimediaza <wikimediaza(a)lists.wikimedia.org <javascript:;>>
> Subject: [Wikimedia ZA] Fwd: wiki science competition
> Message-ID:
> <
> CAJ6y08FDNmz54bMAikBopn4jPb+9NKJkJ0f_GB-OpO_2Kxc5RQ(a)mail.gmail.com
> <javascript:;>>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> Ivo Kruusamägi, the organiser of the Wiki Science Competition
> <http://www.wikisciencecompetition.org/> internationally (it will take
> place in November 2017), would like to know if anyone in South Africa is
> interested in heading up the organisation of the competition in South
> Africa? If you are interested then please let me know.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Douglas.
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Ivo Kruusamägi <ivo.kruusamagi(a)gmail.com <javascript:;>>
> Date: 17 June 2017 at 05:05
> Subject: wiki science competition
> To: info(a)wikimedia.org.za <javascript:;>
>
>
> Hi!
>
> Science photo competition is coming again in this November: http://www.
> wikisciencecompetition.org/
>
> Based on the last competition in 2015 it's reasonable to assume that there
> could be ca 10 000 participants and over 50 000 submissions this time. But
> to really pull that off, there's a need to find enough local organizers who
> would take care of local country-based sub-competitions.
>
> The task is relatively simple: there has to be someone, who would promote
> the competition locally and set up a jury to select the local winners.
>
> Any interest in Wikimedia South Africa about organizing this competition?
>
> Regards
> Ivo Kruusamägi
>
>
>
> --
> Douglas Ian Scott
> 司道格
> Skype: douglas0scott
> South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Subject: Digest Footer
>
> _______________________________________________
> WikimediaZA mailing list
> WikimediaZA(a)lists.wikimedia.org <javascript:;>
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaza
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of WikimediaZA Digest, Vol 79, Issue 1
> ******************************************
>
--
*Michael Graaf*
*Researcher & Editor*
keybase.io/michaelgraaf
+27795487242
