Lotto critic wins support

Johannesburg, 24 Jul 2002

The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) of SA has come out in support of local hacker LowVoltage against Lotto organiser Uthingo.

LowVoltage, as administrator of local hacker site 2600, was issued with a cease and desist letter by Uthingo earlier this month, demanding that he remove pages on the Web site that refer to the National Lottery as the "National Robbery" and uses the phrase "Tata ma chance, Tata ma f***-all". Uthingo alleges that the use of the phrases constitute trademark infringement.

In a letter addressed to Uthingo`s legal team, FXI anti-censorship co-ordinator Simon Kimani Ndung`u writes that LowVoltage`s actions "do not amount to the infringement of a registered trademark as prohibited by section 34(1) of the Trade Marks Act". Kimani says trademark infringement "can only apply in a situation where an individual makes the unauthorised use of a trademark so as to deceive or cause confusion and for a pecuniary benefit".

Kimani says it is clear that LowVoltage is not trying to make money from his criticism of the National Lottery. "This is a freedom of expression issue."

In the letter, Kimani calls on Uthingo to "reconsider the threat of legal action and to withdraw the letter of demand". He says FXI believes LowVoltage`s "criticism and parody" of the National Lottery scheme, including his calls for its boycott, "enjoy the protective shield of section 16 of the constitution". He says that under the constitution, an individual has the right to comment on the way in which the scheme is managed and the manner in which the funds are administered. "In so far as the boycott call goes, people can call for a boycott of anything, even the government."

As a public institution, the National Lottery is open to both praise and criticism about its operations. "Fair comment on matters of public interest is an essential component of the right to freedom of expression, and it enjoys judicial protection as long as it is honest and relevant."

Uthingo representative Shananda Janse van Rensburg said this morning that the organisation could not yet comment on whether it intended to take further action on the matter. She explained that the matter was with the legal department and a decision would be made soon.

The initial deadline of seven days for the site to remove the material expired at the end of last week.

LowVoltage says he has not received any further communication from Uthingo. He has, however, updated the site with new figures of Uthingo`s expenditure.