Centre onKnowledge Governance with
Hosted by the Faculty of Law,University of Cape Town
South Africa’s Copyright Amendment Bill
New scholarship on the CAB and the Constitutional Court decisions on it
Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town
Thursday 5 – Friday 6 November 2026
Town
- At least 45 minutes for each paper
- A designated commenter for every draft
- A filmed panel at the end of each day
A globally significant copyright reform deserves a balanced academic record.
About the workshop
South Africa’s Copyright Amendment Bill is a globally significant copyright reform, with many cutting-edge provisions protecting the rights of creators and users in the digital world. But the academic narrative on the Bill has been dominated by research and analysis commissioned by the multinational publishers and distributors who oppose it.
This workshop aims to help scholars with a public-interest focus publish neutral analysis of the Bill and of the Constitutional Court decisions on it, to help balance the academic record. Topics may include any aspect of the CAB, or either or both of the Constitutional Court cases on the Bill and the Act.
How it works
The University of Cape Town will host a two-day works-in-progress workshop to give feedback on early-stage drafts, with the aim of having late-stage drafts ready by March 2027, when we may hold a second workshop.
Bring a draft
Each participant submits a rough draft of a paper: at least five pages, with an abstract, a table of contents and a paragraph per section, with footnotes and references. More advanced drafts are welcome, and drafts may build on earlier work, including academic comments submitted to Parliament or the Court.
Feedback, not performance
Each paper gets at least 45 minutes. Keep the presentation short: the purpose and method of the paper, and the questions the group can help with. The aim is not to convince but to get help with the writing.
Commenters and a tour de table
Every paper has at least one designated commenter, who gives the first substantive comments and recommendations, followed by comments from each participant. Please read the papers for the sessions you attend.
Filmed panel discussions
At the end of each day, a talk-show style panel discussion moderated by Ben Cashdan will be filmed by the Blackstripe team, then edited and published open access for public dissemination and re-use, including as teaching material.
Publishing the papers
The aim is one or more journal collections, which could also be brought together as a book, with publication contracts that allow re-publication in other formats. We will strive for, and fund if needed, open access publication. We will discuss the options together over lunch.
Support for participants
The University of Cape Town and the Open AIR project will cover catering and the venue, and hotel costs for South African participants who live outside the Cape Town area. Support for international participants will be arranged case by case as resources allow. You can also take part remotely: we will have web-conference facilities.
Draft agenda
The final agenda depends on the number of papers. This schedule allows for up to 16 papers with a filmed panel each day; with fewer papers, sessions and breaks will be longer. You don’t need to attend both days.
Thursday 5 November
- 09:00Opening tea
- 09:30Paper 1
- 10:15Paper 2
- 11:00Tea break
- 11:30Paper 3
- 12:15Paper 4
- 13:00Lunch, with a discussion: how and where can we publish open access?
- 14:30Papers 5–8, with a tea break
- 17:00Break
- 17:30Filmed panel discussion
- 18:30Close
Friday 6 November
- 09:00Opening tea
- 09:30Paper 9
- 10:15Paper 10
- 11:00Tea break
- 11:30Paper 11
- 12:15Paper 12
- 13:00Lunch, with a discussion: how and where can we publish open access?
- 14:30Papers 13–16, with a tea break
- 17:00Break
- 17:30Filmed panel discussion
- 18:30Close
Times in South African time (SAST).
Apply to take part
Please apply to attend the workshop and to present, or co-present, a paper. You don’t have to attend both days if your schedule doesn’t allow it (it is exam season, we know), but please tell us when you can be there so that we can assign commenters.
- Fill in the short application form: no account needed.
- You will receive an email with a link to your own page, where you can follow your application and later upload your draft.
