Vol. 493 No. 3
118 Mr. Stanton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress, if any, made in relation to the ratification of the Madrid Protocol on the registration of international trade marks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16267/98]
The Trade Marks Act, 1996, made legislative provision for the ratification of the Madrid Protocol. Ratification will require significant changes in the Trade Mark Rules, 1996. Work on these changes, which involves significant technical and legal considerations, has been delayed in view of the priority necessarily afforded by the intellectual property unit of my Department to the long overdue reform of copyright legislation.
I fully appreciate the desirability of ratifying the Protocol at the earliest possible date. Work to this end is the top priority of the intellectual property unit of my Department in the field of trade marks. It is now anticipated that it should be possible to ratify the Madrid Protocol in the early part of 1999.
A programme of copyright reform currently in hands will provide a strong disincentive to software pirates and would-be pirates.
Any initiatve which helps to decrease the level of piracy in Ireland is to be welcomed. Accordingly, I welcome the present initiative by the Business Software Alliance, in particular, as a contribution to the educational battle to counter the use of copyright infringing software material. Education is critical in the fight against copyright piracy and I fully endorse all efforts to highlight the importance of copyright compliance in the community as a whole.
