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Public Health Medicine: Fair Dealing

Fair Dealing

Section 12 of the Copyright Act allows certain acts of reproduction to be done without permission. 'Fair Dealing' in Section 12, allows reproduction for the following purposes:- 

  • Research or private study
  • Personal or private use
  • Criticism or review
  • Reporting current events (e.g. in a newspaper or broadcast)
  • Judicial proceedings or a report of judicial proceedings
  • Quotation (a fair portion)

The South African copyright law doesn't specify exactly how much you may copy within the bounds of fair use / dealing, but it is clear that it must only be for your own use. So, multiple copies are outside of fair dealing.

There are no Copyright limitations and exceptions for blind or visually impaired persons at this stage.

Acknowledgement is given to the University of the Witwatersrand, Scholarly Communications & Copyright Services Office, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2013. and  DALRO