Generally a person who has written, printed, published, performed, sculpted,
painted, filmed or recorded a work, is automatically the owner of the copyright
to that work.
Sometimes, when a person has been commissioned and paid to do a particular
piece of work, the copyright belongs to the employer.
For most works (except for films) it is not possible to apply
for copyright protection as it automatically exists.
You can obtain copyright protection in SA, if you are South African or if your
work was produced in SA. If you are not South African, you can
obtain copyright protection provided the country you are a national of is
part of the Berne Convention. The Berne Convention is an international
agreement on copyright by which member countries grant each other copyright
protection.
Copyright for films / videos made for commercial use needs to be applied for
formally, by way of the following documentation, obtainable free of charge,
from the Copyright
Office:
Form RF1, submitted in duplicate
Form RF2, submitted in duplicate
Form RF3, submitted in duplicate
Form RF9 together with the "Statement of Case"
Power of Attorney letter if services of an attorney are used
