How do creators protect their work in South Africa, and can AI work be copyrighted?

Under the Copyright Act 98 of 1978 (text amended up to 2002, as published on WIPO Lex), works eligible for copyright include literary, musical and artistic works, cinematograph films, sound recordings, broadcasts and computer programs, if original. A literary, musical or artistic work only qualifies once it has been written down, recorded, represented in digital data or signals, or otherwise reduced to a material form. Check for later amendments.

Sources: WIPO Lex: South Africa Copyright Act, 1978

Checked against the official source on October 6, 2026.