King v South African Weather Service

Mr Pieter Johannes King was a long-serving employee of the Chief Directorate of the Weather Bureau, later succeeded by the South African Weather Service (SAWS). During his employment between 1980 and 2002, he developed various computer programs used to capture, process and transmit meteorological data, which were integrated into the Bureau’s Windows Automated Weather System (WAWS). After a dispute, King refused to hand over the source codes, asserting that the programs were written in his own time, outside the scope of his duties, and that he was the copyright owner. He claimed SAWS used the programs under a tacit licence, which he later purported to terminate. SAWS continued using the programs, leading King to sue for an interdict and damages for copyright infringement. The High Court dismissed his claim, finding that copyright vested in the employer.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.

The case is a leading South African authority on copyright ownership in employee-created computer programs. It clarifies the interpretation of ‘in the course of employment’ under section 21(1)(d) of the Copyright Act and confirms that ownership depends on a factual, common-sense assessment rather than rigid contractual or time-and-place tests.