asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he is aware (a) that no form of entertainment, such as concerts, cinema performances, dances or operas, of which copyright music forms a part, may be held in this country without first obtaining a licence from the Performing Rights Society, Limited, of London; (b) that this society recently obtained an injunction in the courts restraining a musical society from carrying on an entertainment without their licence; (c) that this society collects 5 per cent, on all receipts of such entertainments, amounting to over £50 in some cases; and, if so, if he will have a copyright or performing rights society of our own established and thus prevent this restrictive trade being operated by a foreign concern.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Performing Rights Society.
I am not aware that the position is as stated by the Deputy at (a) in his question. The licensing system to which the Deputy refers applies only to the musical works controlled or owned by the society. I have no knowledge of the litigation to which the Deputy has referred at (b) in his question. As regards (c), my information is that the fees charged by the society in respect of the performance in public of the copyrighted works controlled or owned by the society are scaled on the basis of seating accommodation, frequency of performance and type of entertainment.
I think the Deputy is under a misapprehension about the position of the Performing Rights Society. It is an organisation of composers, authors and music publishers, and its function is to maintain and safeguard the copyrights of its members. The Deputy will appreciate that copyright is a property and that the owners of copyrights are entitled to be paid for the use of the works of which they hold a copyright and that it is open to them at any time to withhold permission to use those works. The exercise of this right by a copyright owner is not a restrictive trade practice. Where private property is concerned, as it is in this matter, it would be for the individual owners of the copyrights to take action, if they so desired, to set up an Irish society in place of the society to which the Deputy has referred.