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ARTICLE · 18 MAY 2026

When Platforms Are Not Liable: Big Shift In Copyright Law

ENS
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This comprehensive legal update covers recent developments across South African law, from pharmaceutical naming regulations and copyright platform liability to VAT amendments affecting insurance and digital services. The collection explores emerging challenges in intellectual property protection, cryptocurrency regulation, and data brokering, while examining how AI and digital transformation are reshaping traditional legal frameworks.

South AfricaIntellectual Property
Bernard Dippenaar
Bernard Dippenaar
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A recent court decision has quietly reshaped how copyright works online, and it could affect everything from internet providers to AI tools.

What happened?

In Cox v. Sony Music, the court ruled that simply knowing users are infringing copyright is not enough to make a platform liable. Instead, liability now requires intent - and that can only be shown in two ways:

  • Encouraging infringement (inducement)
  • Designing a service specifically for infringement (tailored to infringement)
    Anything less? Not enough.

Why this matters

For years, copyright owners could rely on a broader test: if a platform knew about infringement and contributed to it, that could be enough. That approach has now been shut down.

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