Does that include the ‘development’ of open education platforms? Who knows? Certainly the interpretation of the Act apparent from the draft regulations suggests that its intending to be as all encompassing as possible.

Thanks for the heads up. Is there a definition of what “publuicly funded research” is? I have heard differing interpretations of what might be covered. For instance research funded by a public funding agency (e.g. NRF) – presumably is. However what about other activities (consciously avoiding research here!) that are funded by public universities money.

Its not sufficient for the South African executive to refrain from banning all academic freedom, its constitutionally obliged to positively promote that freedom:
Section 7 of the SA Bill of Rights provides; (2) The state must respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights.

Thus the Department and Minsiter of Science and Technology is obliged to promote academic freedom, which this subordinate regulation does not do.
In addition there is almost no private research sector in South Africa so most South African scientists have no choice.
In addition it must be noted that very attraction of being a scientist is often so solve issues of critical importance for one’s fellow human beings, especially the most marginalised.
Therefore a public spirited researcher, and there are many in South Africa, in other words the type of researcher for whom academic freedom exists, cannot be said to exercise freedom if she must choose between the state preventing her from joining research consortia if she works on issue relevant to the vast majority of South Africans, and having to work to issues of interest only to commercial players, if such exist in South Africa in that researcher’s speciality.

I don’t agree that the regulation is content neutral at all. It is not a time, manner, place restriction, rather the question of whether to pursue knowledge which is immediately commercially useful or knowledge which is not is an inherently political question.
Whether genetic material can be owned or not is an ideological indeed an ethical issue, similarly the decision to make results open for others through open licences is a deeply ethical issue.

The kinds of scientific problems which are engaged by multi-national research consortia, such as diseases associated with poverty, HIV, malaria etc are not the same kinds of issues which private corporations adress, hence the signal failure to produce drugs for these diseases by big pharma.
They are also not ‘content neutral’ in terms of South Africa; if the poor suffer disproportionately then there is an equality issue.
The irony is that the new Minister of Science and Technology (to be appointed after the election on Wednesday 22 April) will find that she cannot set research priorities because that power has been given to the National Intellectual Property Office, which is legally obliged to patent everything which it can.

- Pranesh