Legal Speak Made Easy

“Copyright” or “Copywrite”?

Commonly confused, and sometimes incorrectly switched out by spell-checkers, these two terms are pronounced identically but have completely different meanings. “Copyright” is one of our intellectual property legal protections for creators of artistic and creative works. In South Africa it is automatic and doesn’t require registration; but adding a copyright notice with a “©” symbol and the year of creation to your work tells would-be plagiarists that you are serious about protecting your rights.

“Copywrite” on the other hand is what a “copywriter” does – literally, “writes copy”, usually for some form of advertising or other marketing communication.