Ireland

[IE] Details of Copyright Review Announced

IRIS 2011-7:1/27

Damien McCallig

School of Law, National University of Ireland, Galway

On 9 May 2011 the Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation announced the terms of reference and timetable for the review of the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 (as amended) (see IRIS 2000-8/28). A Copyright Review Committee has been established.

Under the terms of reference, the Review Committee will examine current copyright legislation in order to identify any areas that are perceived as creating barriers to innovation and to propose solutions for removing these barriers. The Committee is also tasked with examining the United States’ doctrine of “fair use” in order to determine if it would be appropriate in an Irish and European Union context. Where the recommendations of the Review Committee conflict with current European Union Directives, the Committee is asked to make recommendations for changes to the relevant directives.

The review began with a public consultation process that asked interested parties to submit their views. That consultation process is to close at the end of June 2011. The Review Committee will next examine the submissions and produce a Consultation Paper. Following the publication of the Consultation Paper, a second public call for submissions will be issued. A closing date of 22 September 2011 is proposed for that phase of the process. The Committee will then produce a Final Report, which will include their recommendations. It is proposed that this be submitted to the Minister by the end of December 2011.