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The Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation (ODTR) has recently published a draft version of the strategy for the management of the radio spectrum in Ireland. The impetus for the publication of the draft strategy has been the economic impact of the use of the radio spectrum in recent years, together with the growth in demand for the radio spectrum, particularly as the information society has developed and with the general trend towards convergence. The strategy document outlines the expected use of the spectrum in the years ahead. The draft strategy document is part of an ongoing...

In July 2001 The Irish Times settled a copyright claim arising out of a webcast of James Joyce's novel "Ulysses". The webcast, to celebrate Bloomsday on 16 June 1998, involved a global reading of "Ulysses" over the Internet, carried on The Irish Times's website, The period of copyright protection in Ireland formerly was fifty years. As a result, Joyce's work came out of copyright in 1991. However, Council Directive 93/98/EEC of 29 October 1993 harmonizing the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights, which harmonised copyright periods upwards to seventy years, extended the...

In October 2001, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) announced details of its new ownership and control policy for commercial broadcasting. The Radio and Television Act 1988 requires the BCI to formulate and apply a policy that takes account of plurality of ownership and diversity of content in broadcasting. The Broadcasting Act 2001 (see IRIS 2001-4: 9), which makes provision for the introduction of a host of new analog and digital radio and television services, also addresses the issue of diversity of sources and content of programming. In April 2001 the BCI decided to undertake a review...

RTÉ, the national public service broadcaster, established under the Broadcasting Act, 1960, has dual funding from an annual licence fee and advertising income. Successive governments in recent years have declined to increase the level of the licence fee, which at IEP 70 (EURO 88.88) remains one of the lowest in Western Europe. The Broadcasting Act, 2001 (see IRIS 2001-4: 9) makes provision for RTÉ to be involved in digital terrestrial television. In preparation, RTÉ sought an increase of IEP 50 (EURO 63.49). However, the Government, on the basis of a consultant's report, only awarded IEP 14.50...

The controversial Oliver Stone film "Natural Born Killers" has recently been released on video in Ireland, seven years after it was banned by the Film Censor under the Censorship of Films Acts, 1923-70. The ban was upheld by the Films Appeal Board in January 1995. A ban lasts for seven years, after which the film can be resubmitted to the Censor for a certificate for public showing (see IRIS 2000-2: 8). The reason for the ban was the film's depiction of violence and its propensity to incite to crime. In January 2000, TV3, the national commercial broadcaster, planned to broadcast late at night...