KENTSE BADIRWANG SPEAKS OUT
Intellectual Property Theft, Authorial Experience, Protection Mechanisms, and the Copyright Amendment Bill
This interview centres on the lived experience of author Kentse Badirang, examining the personal, professional, and structural implications of intellectual property theft, as well as companies' legal reform and creator protection within South Africa’s cultural and creative industries.
As an author, can you describe your personal experience with intellectual property theft and how it has affected you both professionally and emotionally?
I experienced Intellectual property theft firsthand when I discovered that my Setswana manuscript, titled Molayakgosi, had been published and launched for a 13-year-old girl in Kurumane in the Northern Cape.
It was launched by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC) in collaboration with the Marang Career Center, which was reportedly the NPO that discovered the child.
It was launched on the 10th of May 2024.
I was so in shock and it affected me emotionally.
As a person already struggling with hypertension it really escalated my challenges.
I struggled with uncontrollable blood pressure, anxiety, depression, going to consult doctors every now and then, endless emotional outbursts, insomnia, and weight loss.
The medical costs added to my challenges as I was not in a position to find work and I ended up selling my car to survive.
Professionally, I lost opportunities to submit my new book for Annual calls for schools, libraries, and other educational stakeholders, and book stores.
I had prepared a 10-year business plan for the book, and that just went down the drain and turned my career into a failed dream.
At what point did you realise that your intellectual work had been used or taken without consent, and what was your immediate response as a creator?
I discovered that my work had been used or stolen immediately when it was launched and was trending on Facebook.
I immediately called the provincial official of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture where I had submitted my manuscript to be reviewed for funding by the department and a company called Penebotshelo, which was appointed to assist with the selection process.
3. What weaknesses or gaps in South Africa’s current intellectual property protection systems became most apparent to you through this experience?
There are many weaknesses or gaps but the ones that I feel are great barriers in our country are the high costs of litigation and the possibility of a very lengthy legal process, limited protection scope, lack of IP protection and awareness programs, digital and cross-border enforcement gaps, online infringement challenges, and weak remedies and legal disincentives.
Very limited prosecutions of IP theft cases.
4. In your view, how does intellectual property theft affect authors, particularly Black women writers, in terms of income, recognition, and creative sustainability?
There are very limited opportunities for black women authors and they are already facing many challenges as it is.
Raising children on our own, having to prove our capabilities in this male-dominated industry.
Due to the lack of support its easy for women to abandon their writing careers and opt for an easier career just for survival and to put money on the table.
It's no child's play to be a successful author in South Africa while trying to raise kids by yourself.
The culture of not reading makes it impossible to make a living out of writing.
With AI in the picture, things are even worse, as humans can never come close to competing with AI.
5. What responsibilities do you believe publishers, producers, and cultural institutions have in protecting and respecting an author’s intellectual property?
There should be more consultations across the country so everyone in this space can make a meaningful contribution to the Copyright Amendment Bill, especially to strengthen parts of the bill that speak to the management and protection of intellectual property.
It is a very complex and complicated bill to prosecute, which is why authors just suffer in silence and do not take legal action when their work is stolen or plagiarized.
6. Based on your journey, what practical steps should authors take—individually and collectively—to better safeguard their work?
There are many ways to protect or copyright one's work, and I will mention a few, like the old method of printing and posting work to yourself and not opening the envelope.
You can email the work to your own email. Register your work at the national library, at a law firm, or patent your work as well. It all depends on what is convenient for you.
7. How do you personally manage the balance between sharing your work for visibility and protecting it from exploitation or misuse?
The recent experience really got me to a decision to never ever share any of my work without protecting it to the best of my ability.
The calls for authors to submit their work for funding are our biggest downfall because we get letters of regret while our work is received and exposed to being stolen by officials or shared as the work remains in the archives of the companies we submit to.
8. What are your views on South Africa’s Copyright Amendment Bill, and to what extent do you believe it responds to the real challenges faced by authors today?
The copyright amendment bill B13D - 2017 was adopted by parliament on 29 February 2024 and was proposed to update and replace some of the parts of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978.
Amongst these updates, the ones that I am interested in are ...Expanding copyright expectations, establishing the intellectual property tribunal, dealing with technological protection measures, and clarifying rights management, digital and social media rights, and offenses.
These portions have been referred to the constitutional court for assessment of the constitutionality process.
The process is still not finalized and has not been adopted into law.
9. What specific amendments or protections would you like to see strengthened or introduced in the Copyright Amendment Bill to better serve creators?
They must always make sure that their work is protected before any invitation to submit for funding.
In a suspected case of theft or pluger they should seek legal assistance as soon as possible.
They should also keep records like emails, names of others who shared their work with, times, and original drafts so they can stand a better chance when they have to fight for their work.
Closing Comments – The Creative Passport
Kentse Badirwang’s account reminds us that intellectual property theft is not an abstract policy concern, but a deeply personal experience with lasting professional, emotional, and economic consequences.
Her story lays bare the vulnerabilities that many authors face when they entrust their work to institutions and systems that are meant to support them.
By speaking openly about her journey, she gives voice to countless creators who endure similar harm in silence, often without the resources, health, or legal access to pursue justice.
As The Creative Passport, we believe that listening to creators must be the starting point of any meaningful reform.
Kentse’s experience calls for careful reflection by all stakeholders in the cultural and creative industries on how trust is built, how work is handled, and how protection is guaranteed in practice — not just in principle.
Her words stand as both testimony and warning: without concrete safeguards, accountability, and accessible remedies, the promise of creative freedom and sustainability remains out of reach for many South African authors.
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