Various versions of the Copyright Act, 1978, exist:
- as enacted on 30 June 1978 and as came into force on 1 January 1979.
- as amended on 23 May 1980 by the Copyright Amendment Act, 1980.
- as amended on 17 October 1983 by sections 1–3 of the Copyright Amendment Act, 1983.
- as amended on 22 June 1984 by the Copyright Amendment Act, 1984.
- as amended on 23 April 1986 by the Copyright Amendment Act, 1986.
- as amended on 25 September 1987 by sections 2 and 3 of the Copyright Amendment Act, 1988.
- as amended on 23 March 1988 by section 1 of the Copyright Amendment Act, 1988.
- as amended on 1 April 1989 by sections 1–3 of the Copyright Amendment Act, 1989.
- as amended on 1 August 1989 by section 4 of the Copyright Amendment Act, 1989.
- as amended on 10 July 1992 by the Copyright Amendment Act, 1992.
- as amended on 1 October 1997 by sections 50–58 of the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Act, 1997.
- as amended on 25 June 2002 by the Copyright Amendment Act, 2002.
- as amended on 1 May 2011 by the Companies Act, 2008, and currently in force.
- as amended by the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Act, 2013, not yet in force.