Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 October 2012
308. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Jobs; Enterprise and Innovation if he will report on the progress that has been made on the Copyright Review Committee which has been tasked with examining copyright law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43432/12]
View answerAn independent Copyright Review Committee was established in May 2011 to examine the Irish copyright framework to identify areas that might be deemed to create barriers to innovation and to make recommendations to resolve any problems identified. The ‘fair use’ doctrine was also to be examined to see if it would be appropriate in an Irish/EU context.
The Committee conducted an initial consultation during the summer of 2011 and received submissions from a broad spectrum of interested parties. It published a comprehensive Consultation Paper in February 2012 which set out the issues advanced in the submissions, and requested responses to specific questions. Further information was sought from interested parties by the Committee under the broad headings of Rights-holders, Collecting Societies, Intermediaries, Users, Entrepreneurs, Heritage Institutions and Fair Use. A public meeting was held on 24th March 2012 for the purpose of facilitating discussion in relation to the Consultation Paper. In the region of 180 submissions were received by the closing date of 29 June 2012, in which many complex and substantial matters were raised. These are currently being appraised by the Committee.
The Department is in the process of publishing these submissions on the Copyright Review website. The Committee has indicated that it expects to present its final Report before March next year.
