Can a website provider use third-party content on its website without permission from the third-party content provider?
No. This would amount to a contravention of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978 if the content, as a copyrighted work, was first published in South Africa or made by a “qualified person” (a South African or a company registered and incorporated under the laws of South Africa). The responsible Minister has, however, in Regulations made in terms of section 37 of the Act, provided that the Act also applies to works of foreign origin in the same way it applies to works first published in South Africa. In terms of these Regulations, the Act applies to those countries listed in a schedule to the Regulations if the content is first published in a country listed in the schedule.
Website content, whether text, music, or graphics, is a form of work subject to copyright protection.
