South African Constitutional Court Rectifies Copyright Discrimination for People with Disabilities

[Sanya Samtani] In a unanimous judgment, the Constitutional Court of South Africa confirmed the Pretoria High Court’s finding that the Copyright Act 1978 is unconstitutional and unfairly discriminatory to the extent that it fails to provide for for people with visual and print disabilities. This vindicates a decades-long struggle by BlindSA, the applicants, represented by SECTION27. It is also the first instance of a Constitutional Court requiring copyright legislation to provide for an accessible format shifting provision on the basis that constitutional rights are limited by overly restrictive copyright laws.