Vol. 545 No. 1
92 Mrs. Owen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of an arbitration being carried out since 1996 between Irish night clubs and Phonographic Performance Ireland; when a decision will he made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29488/01]
Under section 31 of the Copyright Act, 1963, disputes between persons using sound recordings in public and the owner of the copyright subsisting in the recordings regarding the equitable remuneration payable to the copyright owner may be referred to the Controller of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, who may appoint an arbitrator to deal with the case. In the period September 1989 to December 1995, 62 references were made by establishments using sound recordings.
On 15 July 1996, the controller appointed an arbitrator who was agreed upon by the parties to deal with these references. The controller has informed me that he has engaged in correspondence with the arbitrator since his appointment with a view to being kept up to date in relation to the progress of the work and to expediting the conclusion of the assignment.
In February 2001, the arbitrator wrote to the controller indicating, inter alia, that the arbitration process was now coming to a conclusion; that to date hearings had been held on seven separate days in respect of several sample cases; and that dates had been fixed for the exchange of final written submissions and the hearing of the final oral submissions. The arbitrator also indicated that he believed it was best to clarify with the parties the process which they wished to undertake in relation to the remaining cases as the current hearing effectively related to two venues selected from among the referring establishments. The intention was that a formula which the arbitrator would include in his award in respect of the sample cases would be accepted for the purpose of settling the remaining cases.
