[82] I have perused both dictionaries in this matter and make the following observations. Firstly, the page layout
and references are completely different as annexures "A" (Pharos) and "B" (OUP) to this judgment
demonstrate. There can certainly be no question of copying in that that regard. Secondly, as far as the
headwords are concerned, while there are some similarities there are also major distinctions. And, as I have
said, Media 24 no longer relies on any copyright in respect of its corpus or headwords.
[83] Turning to the example sentences, I make the following observations. Firstly, there are some that are plainly
identical:
83.1 "South" (adjective, adverb) "Namibia is south of Angola" (OUP) "Namibia lies south of Angola" (Pharos)
83.2 In respect of "suid" Pharos repeats the Namibian example while OPU does not it has, inter alia, "the
four wind directions are north, south, east, and west" and "the river flows from the south to the north."
[84] There are further example sentences in respect of "south", "southern", "suide" and "suid" in both dictionaries,
all of which are completely different from each other, save for the Namibian similarity. So, for example, Pharos,
in addition to the Namibian example, has the following example sentences on the English side:
84.1 South
.
Port Elizabeth is in the south and Johannesburg in the north of our country;
.
Mossel Bay lies on the south coast of our country.
84.2 Southern
.
Port Elizabeth lies in the southern part of our country.
[85] OUP, on the other hand, has only two entries on the English side, in addition to the Namibian example:
.
Agulhas is in the south of the country.
.
The south coast.
There are no example sentences in regard to southern.
[86] On the Afrikaans side Pharos has, in addition to the Namibian example, the following English example
sentences:
86.1 Suide South
.
Port Elizabeth lies in the south and Johannesburg is in the north of our country.
86.2 Suidelike Southern
.
Port Elizabeth lies in the southern part of our country.
[87] OUP has the following entries on the Afrikaans side in addition to the "wind directions" example sentence
referred to above:
Suid "South"
.
The river flows from the south to the north.
.
The wind is from the south.
.
The compass points due south.
.
They live to the south of the airport.
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There is no example sentence provided by OUP in respect of "suidelik" which is just translated as "southern".
[88] From these comparisons a number of observations can be made:
88.1 The compilers of OUP's English side possibly copied the Angola/Namibia example sentence from the
Pharos work either on the Afrikaans or English sides, or both.
88.2 On the other hand that compiler may have seen the same example sentence in another dictionary,
which was consulted during the compilation processes, a dictionary that was also possibly consulted by
the compiler(s) of the Pharos work. I would point out, however, that given that no particular allegation
in regard to this example sentence is made in OUP's papers, this is no more than judicial speculation in
the exercise of the court's impression at this stage.
88.3 Certain of the example sentences are obvious in the circumstances eg the locality of Mossel Bay close to
the southernmost tip of Africa at Cape Agulhas is an example that anyone with a basic grasp of local
geography might consider.
88.4 The majority of example sentences listed by OUP in respect of "south", "southern", "suid" and
"suidelike" have no connection whatsoever with the Pharos work , can be considered to be original
work and fall to be ignored for purposes of the plagiarism complaint.
[89] The limited coincidence of the example sentences to which I have just referred in respect of "south", "suid",
"southern" and "suidelike" resonates throughout the OUP work as the earlier reference to "baie" suggests:
one or two of the example sentences at most bear a similarity to those in the original work, while the bulk of
them do not, with some being quite novel and distinct. And, to revert to an earlier theme, does the mere
change of noun or object, ("there isn't much milk left" compared to "there isn't much juice left)" suggest
copying or intentional distinction?
[90] Ideally a court pondering these alleged similarities and claimed distinctions would wish to be assisted by both