Terms of Use
SAHA is committed to identifying rightful copyright holders to archival materials in our collections. Every best effort has been made to establish and obtain copyright permission for those archival materials reproduced on this website. However, the question of copyright on struggle materials remains a highly contested and uncertain arena. Certainly, in the case of the SAHA Poster Collection AL2446, it has proven difficult - if not impossible - to identify copyright-holders for most of these images, in terms of current copyright legislation in South Africa.
The vast majority of these graphics were made anonymously, by collectives rather than individuals, working with commonly agreed symbols and words, with intent for mass public distribution. Thus “creative origin” usually cannot be determined. Many works were produced under the aegis of organisations which were illegal and many of which are now defunct. Moreover, the Copyright Act of 1978 grants intellectual property rights over artworks to organisations only when the organisation commissioned and paid for the works or employed the artist(s) formally. Most, if not all, of the poster-makers volunteered their artistic services free of charge, and in the name of cultural activism.
Given this lack of legal, logistical and technical clarity on copyright ownership of these posters, SAHA believes that use of these works for non-profit, heritage, educational and public cultural development purposes should not constitute an infringement of copyright law.
To facilitate the public use of this rich cultural heritage, SAHA has initiated a process to seek support from all stakeholders (both individuals and organisations) for the open use of these works for non-profit, heritage and educational use, without threat of copyright infringement.
For more information about this process, please visit the SAHA website at http://www.SAHA.org.za/collections/copyright.
In line with this position, use of this website and its content, with the exception of those materials for which copyright ownership is clearly identified, is permitted for educational, scholarly, research and non-commercial purposes, provided that textual and graphical content are not altered and that the source is acknowledged. Commercial use, including unauthorized reproduction, publication or other exploitation, is prohibited.
If anyone is able to supply more information about the creation, production and distribution of any resources on our site, please contact SAHA.