asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he has received information from the Secretary of the Provincial Ballroom Proprietors Association indicating that the Performing Rights Society of London has increased fees for renewal of a licence for a dance hall in County Cork by nearly three hundred per cent; and if he will consider bringing the Copyright Act, 1963 into immediate operation, in order to enable the dance hall proprietor in question to appeal against such charges on the grounds that they are unreasonable.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Performing Rights Society Fees.
17.
The reply to the first part of the Deputy's question is in the affirmative.
In regard to the second part of the question, I would refer the Deputy to the reply given in Dáil Éireann on 13th May, 1964, to a question concerning the activities of the Performing Rights Society Limited. I hope to be able to bring the Copyright Act, 1963, into force in the autumn; but the Deputy is wrong in assuming that the bringing into operation of the Act will enable an individual dance hall proprietor to appeal against the amount of licensing charges. As was stated in reply to the previous question, the Act contains provisions whereby a licensing scheme operated by an organisation of copyright owners may be referred for decision to the Controller of Industrial and Commercial Property by a representative organisation of persons requiring licences.