Guide to the World Cup

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the latest SAFACT Update

Update of SAFACT Activities

Week Ending 18th April 2010

1. Court and Legal Matters:
   
• Street Vendor sentenced to 3 years imprisonment in the Paulpietersburg Magistrates Court.
• Preparations continued for disclosure in the Bekker case occupying all enforcement staff for the entire week.
• Disclosure documents prepared by SAFACT for the Prosecutor filled 27 lever arch files.
• 2 other burner labs linked to the Bekker operation require disclosure within the next 3 weeks so manpower available to conduct enforcement actions limited.


2. Asset Forfeiture:
   
   • Nothing to report
   
   
3. First Quarter 2010 Stats (2009 Q1 in brackets)
• 187 Enforcement actions (202)
• 61 Arrests (132)
• 64 Individuals charged
• 35 Convictions / Administrative actions (132)
• 56, 662 DVD-r’s seized (96, 642)
• 3, 741 Pressed discs seized (21)
• 200 Blank discs seized (13, 176)
• 28 Burners Seized (307)
• 15 Computer seized (16)
• 2 Printers seized (28)
• 8, 112 inlays seized. (20,760)
• 2 Training events held
• 37 Government officials attended
• 388 Cinema Inspections (300)


4. Stats (Week)
• Arrests
• 2, 147 discs seized in enforcement actions (454 pressed discs)
• 2, 147 Film
• 0 Music
• 0 Nigerian
• 0 Pornographic
• 0 PlayStation 2
• 0 empty covers
• 43 loose sleeves


5. Enforcement:
• Home Operator raided by CCU Pretoria. 860 blank discs seized and 1,499 DVD-r’s (all film titles) as well as 2 computers, 1 printer, 1 external hard drive, 3 memory sticks, 2 hard drives, 1 DVD writer, 19
• empty covers with sleeves and 16 loose sleeves.
• Hercules SAPS arrested a street vendor with 51 discs
• Hercules SAPS arrested a street vendor with 39 discs
• Hercules SAPS arrested a street vendor with 98 discs and 43 loose sleeves.
• Hercules SAPS arrested a street vendor with 6 discs.


6. Cross Border:
• 13 mail consignments of box sets containing 454 pressed discs were detained by Customs at the Johannesburg International Mail Centre. 10 of the consignments contained purchases from DVDsetshop.


7. Online:
• No infringement list film titles found on main auction site.
• P2P activity at 25, 858 was 13% lower than the preceding week.


8. Cinema:
   
• 24 cinema inspections conducted with no reported cases of piracy.
• Suspected camcording of 3 South African films being investigated.


9. Media:
   
• Nothing to report


10. Policy:
    
• Second draft of “Film Content Security Guidelines” circulated for comment.
• Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Trade and Industry refused to accommodate presentation by DTI on the Strategic Plan for CIPRO (Company and Intellectual Property Registration Office)
• Delays being experienced in registering copyright due to staff shortages at CIPRO
• Briefing by Dr Owen Dean on proposed amendments to the Copyright Act scheduled for the 28th April. Invites to follow.


11. International
• Nothing to report


12. Gaming:
• Nothing to report


13. Awareness:
    
• Nothing to report


14. Training.
• Nothing to report


15. General
• Nothing to report

Appointment of IPO Co-Chairs, Treasurer and Convenors of Sub-Committees

Dear All,

After a meeting of the Executive Committee last week, I am pleased to announce the following office bearers for the IPO.

Chairperson: Desiree Markgraaff and Tendeka Matatu will co-chair the IPO this year.

Treasurer: Eileen Sandrock & Charlene Govender

DTI/SARS Sub-Commitee: Kevin Fleischer

Long Form Sub-Committee: TBC

Broadcast Sub-Committee Co-Convenors: Harriet Gavshon and Lodi Matsetela

IP Sub-Committee : Rehad Desai

B-BBEE Sub-Committee: Marvin Saven

NFVF Sub-Committee: Ramadan Suleman

Please note that it is extremely important that only Convenors of our various Sub-Committees or the Chairs communicate with stakeholders on official IPO matters. This is a formailty we agreed to last year to ensure that only agreed official IPO positions are put forward in regard to issues of policy.

Lastly, as per the IPO Constitution, the Executive Committee may co-opt members on to the Executive Committee as the need arises. The following people have been co-opted:

Richard Nosworthy

Ben Horowitz

Mfundi Vundla

Kind regards,

Dionne Cronin

Independent Producers' Organisation (IPO)

Tel: (011) 719-4000

Fax: (011) 719-4090

Cell: 083-600-9554

Email: administrator@ipo.org.za

Postal Address: PO Box 2631, Saxonwold, 2132

Web: www.ipo.org.za

Invite: Book Launch - Intertextuality, Violence and Memory in Yizo Yizo Youth Drama - 6 May

Seminar offered by WGSA

Dear Friends of the WGSA

Our next seminar is on 17 April 2010 at AFDA at 10h00. The topic is "The Psychology of Writing" by Brent Quinn. This invitation is extended to your friends, comrades, associates and team members! Non-members only pay R50.00.

We are also running a special for that day only. If you apply for membership and pay on the 17th, you can become a member at the old price of R295.00 for this year.

PLEASE RSVP BEFORE 14 APRIL 2010

Kind Regards,

EJ (Thea) Aboud

WGSA Administrator

Registration number: 026-978 NPO

Mobile: 082 575 6901

Email: admin@writersguildsa.org

Fax: 086 654 1972

TVIEC UPDATE

6 April 2010

Have you been paid?

Dear fellow industry professionals

We are trying to follow up on outstanding SABC debt owed to producers and freelancers. SABC had promised to pay all outstanding debt by the end of March 2010. However, we are getting word that many of us have not received overdue payments. Please can you take the time to update us on the status of your payment so that we can either tick you off the list or continue to fight for what you are owed.

Thank you

TVIEC

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: tvcrisis@gmail.com

Charl: 082-6813680

This update is written on behalf of the TVIEC (Television Industry Emergency Coalition) which consists of: IPO (Independent Producers Organization), SASFED (South African Screen Federation), TPA (The Producers Alliance), DFA (Documentary Filmmakers Association), WGSA (Writers Guild of South Africa) as well as CWU (Creative Workers Union).

2010 General Conference Johannesburg

Members please take note:

BROADCASTING SCORES!

CBA General Conference

Sandton Hilton, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa

17-21 April, 2010

See the video HERE

SOS News ICT Charter lodged with DTI, B-B BEE policy, legislation etc.

Hello all

A further quick update on the issue of the ICT Charter and the issues of broad-based black economic empowerment in the ICT sector.

I have just checked the DTI's website and as reported by Business Day the ICT Charter has been lodged with them. I had a quick chat to some of you and most of you were surprised that it had been lodged. The ICT Charter process collapsed a number of years ago.

I will check with both DTI and with DOC and see if I can get a copy of the latest Charter. Further, if anyone knows anything about this document do contact me so that I can send the information out.

As stated in a previous email the DOC has stated that the new ICASA ownership and control regulations, the ICT Charter and the amendments to the Electronic Communications Act will work together to ensure improved BEE in the sector.

Just a quick history of the Charter process. In the middle 1990s government encouraged industries to come together to look at BEE ownership issues. Several charters were concluded (e.g. the banking sector charter) but although Charters were an important starting point there were a number of problems - one of the key being that the Charter process benefited people with access to capital but transformation didn't penetrate much deeper than this. For instance there was very little transformation at the management level of companies. In the late 1990s government decided to introduce new policy calling for broad-based black economic transformation. A document called "A Strategy for Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment" was released in 2003. It defined broad-based empowerment. Further, a generic score card was developed including 7 important elements. Each element was given a score out of a maximum of hundred points. The 7 elements included ownership (20 points), management control (10 points), employment equity (15 points), skills development (15) points, preferential procurement (20 points), enterprise development (15 points) and socio-economic development (5 points). Companies were given an overall score in terms of these various elements.

The Strategy was followed by the B-B BEE Act passed in 2003 and promulgated in Jan 2004. The Act outlines all the issues surrrounding the development of codes of good practice and outlines govt's leverage for the implementation of B-B BEE. Government depts and public entities must now take companies' BEE credentials into account when:

• determining qualification criteria for the granting of licenses and concessions.
• developing and implementing a preferential procurement policy
• determining qualifications for the sale of state-owned enterprises
• developing criteria for entering into parternships with the private sector
  

The new ICT Charter will therefore need to:

• Take carefully into consideration the issue of B-B BEE. The Charter will need to comply with this.
• Further the Charter will need significant input from industry players. Generally Charters are developed and agreed upon by industry players before they are submitted to the DTI.
  

I will certainly check with the DOC to find out what is happening with this process.

If you want to access the latest documentation on B-B BEE please check the DTI's website. Please Click here for the BBBEE Act.

Warm regards
Kate

From SOS: Communications Minister dissolves Digital Dzonga Advisory Council

Please read the following statement:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS DISSOLVES DIGITAL DZONGA ADVISORY COUNCIL

01 April 2010

The Minister of Communications General (Ret) Siphiwe Nyanda today held a meeting with members of the Digital Dzonga Advisory Council.

The Digital Dzonga Advisory Council was appointed by the Minister of Communications to advise the Minister on and oversee the complex process of migrating South Africa’s analogue broadcasting services to a new digital technology known as digital terrestrial television or DTT.

The 12 member Council consists of representatives from every sector including the ICT industry, broadcasting, labour and consumer groups.

The Council was appointed in 2008.

Minister Nyanda told the members that he received a report suggesting a possible conflict of interest by some of the members of the Council.

This was due to the fact that most members are employed by organizations that have interests, directly or indirectly, in the value chain of the migration process.

The Minister feels that the Department of Communications and the migration process shouldn’t be compromised as a result of this issue.

In the wake of these issues, Minister Nyanda has taken a decision to dissolve the Digital Dzonga Council with a view to reconstitute it urgently.

Invitations for nomination of suitable candidates will be issued shortly.

Minister Nyanda thanked the outgoing members of the Council for their contribution.

“I wish to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to you for laying a solid foundation for this crucial project. It is my belief that we will be able to use this basis you have laid to ensure an efficient and smooth migration process.”

The Council’s outgoing chairperson Lara Kantor thanked the Minister, on behalf of the entire Council, for the opportunity afforded to them to be part of this process.

Issued by

Ministry of Communications

The Minister of Communications has dissolved the Digital Dzonga Advisory Council. The Advisory Council and Digital Dzonga were set up under the previous Minister. The Advisory Council consists of a number of important stakeholders involved in the digital migration process including government, ICASA, signal distributors, broadcasters, equipment manufacturers and consumers. As you will see below the Department is saying that there are potential conflict of interest issues. This seems to refer to the equipment manufacturers on the Council. The Minister has called for the Council to be dissolved. He will then call for new public nominations.

To date the mandate of the Council has been as follows:

• Providing a forum for discussion and decisions by digital migration stakeholders in all matters related to migration.
• Giving strategic direction to the Minister and Dept regarding the migration to digital
• Making recommendations regarding the implementation of the Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy
• Developing an implementation plan for migration to digital broadcasting
• Coordinating and monitoring the implementation plan
• Communications to the general public
• Providing oversight of the Digital Dzonga Project Office based in the DOC
  

For your information please here to find the TORs, including the appointment procedures of the Advisory Council. Also, please click here for government's Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy. Also, if you would like further information on digital migration issues and what it will mean for television please go to www.godigital.co.za

After discussion with a number of you I think the following is important:

• The concept of a Digital Dzonga advisory council including all the significant stakeholders is a sound one. The digital migration process is complex and multi-faceted and requires all stakeholders on board. Further, this certainly follows international best practice.
• To date the Digital Dzonga has generally done very good work, it has done significant research and made a number of solid recommendations on issues such as manufacturing standards etc. Where it has been slow it has generally been because government has been slow to implement its recommendations. One area where it has been slow has been around communication issues to the general public. Unfortunately the Dept has not been very supportive here.
• The important point going forward is that government should be swifter in its implementation of the Advisory Council's recommendations.
• Certainly if there are conflict of interest problems these must be dealt with but the process of digital migration must not be slowed down by the dissolving of the Council. The Minster must move swiftly to call for new public nominations.
  

Do comment on these issues if you would like to.

Warm regards
Kate