Abstract

This contribution traces the historical development of performers’ rights, with a particular focus on the South African legal context. Beginning with the first statutory recognition of performers’ rights in early twentieth-century Germany, it follows the gradual emergence of international instruments, from the Rome Convention to the Beijing Treaty, before examining how these frameworks influenced domestic developments in the United Kingdom, and, later, South Africa. The analysis reveals that while copyright law has historically prioritised the rights of authors and the protection of their works, the legal recognition of performers has remained secondary, often treated as peripheral to the core concerns of the intellectual property regime.
In South Africa, performers’ rights were first introduced by the Performers’ Protection Act 11 of 1967. Although modelled loosely on international norms, the Act provided a fragmented and limited form of protection, reflecting both colonial legal inheritance and a lack of engagement with international instruments. The contribution tracks the evolution of this legislative framework, including the proposed amendments that seek to modernise and expand the rights of performers in response to both technological change and international pressure. Drawing on legal history and comparative analysis, it assesses whether these reforms amount to a substantive shift in how performers’ protection is conceptualised in law.
Ultimately, the contribution argues that recognising the historical marginalisation of performers is essential to understanding the current moment of legal reform. A stronger and more coherent legal regime for performers’ rights in South Africa has the potential not only to correct past omissions, but also to support a more inclusive, equitable and culturally vibrant creative sector.