asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether there is at present any statutory control over, or any statutory limit to, the amount of copyright fees charged by the Performing Rights Society to such persons as the owners of cafés and restaurants for the reproduction under licence of broadcast music; whether he is aware that in some cases the fees charged for the use of such copyright music in public have this year been increased by over 50 per cent; and whether he will take steps to ensure that a reasonable limit is placed on increases in such fees.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Copyright Fees.
10.
There is not, at present, any statutory control over fees charged for the public performance or broadcasting of copyright musical works. I have been informed that charges made by the Performing Rights Society have been increased. There are provisions in the Copyright Bill, 1962, which has been passed by Dáil Éireann, whereby a licensing scheme operated by an organisation of copyright owners may be referred to the Controller of Industrial and Commercial Property by a representative organisation of persons requiring licences of a class covered by the licensing scheme.