IP/N/6/IRL/1

Ireland

The Courts with jurisdiction over IPR infringement cases are the District Court, the Circuit Court, the High Court and the Supreme Court.

(i)Section 22(1) of the Act states that "subject to the provisions of this Act infringements of copyright shall be actionable at the suit of the owner of the copyright". (ii)Such persons may be represented by lawyers. (iii)Yes. However, hearings of proceedings for interim and interlocutory injunctions may take place on affidavit in which case a personal appearance by the rightholder would not be necessary.

Courts may issue a subpoena or order discovery of documents.

Justice is required to be administered in public under the Constitution, unless otherwise prescribed by law. The circumstances in which a hearing or part of a hearing may take place in private will be where the interest of justice may otherwise be defeated, such as in proceedings involving the disclosure of business secrets or of secret manufacturing processes. The parties seeking to protect confidential information must claim privilege and must justify their refusal to produce a document to answer a question on the usual grounds of privilege.

Judicial authorities may order interim and interlocutory injunctions and damages pursuant to common law. Judicial authorities may order damages, including attorney's fees in accordance with Sections 22, 23, 24 and 25 of the Copyright Act 1963. Judicial authorities may order the destruction or other disposal of infringing material in accordance with Sections 22, 23, 24, 25 and 27 of the Copyright Act 1963.

None.

An interlocutory injunction is usually granted on the undertaking of the person seeking it to pay damages. If it transpires that the defendant was wrongfully injuncted, the person seeking the injunction may have to pay damages to the defendant. This may also apply to public authorities and officials.

Length and cost of proceedings vary considerably depending on the type of case. Data would not be available on the actual duration of proceedings and their costs.

There are no applicable administrative procedures and remedies.

Judicial authorities may order interim and interlocutory injunctions and Anton Piller orders pursuant to common law.

Measures may be ordered inaudita altera parte where an application is of an urgent or surprise nature.

Interim injunctions are generally grounded by the issuing of a writ or summons together with an affidavit which discloses all the relevant and material facts in the case. An interim injunction will generally have force for up to four days. This is done by service of a court order granting the interim injunction.

Length and costs of proceedings vary considerably depending on the type of case. Data would not be available on the actual duration of proceedings and their costs.

There are no applicable administrative provisional measures.

The Courts with jurisdiction over criminal acts of infringement of IPRs are the District Court, the Circuit Court, the High Court and the Supreme Court.

Criminal procedures and penalties are available in respect of the following activities where copyright subsists in the work: -Making for sale or hire infringing copies of the work; -Selling or letting for hire, or by way of trade offering or exposing for sale or hire, or for the purposes of trade having in one's possession infringing copies of the work; -By way of trade exhibiting in public infringing copies of the work; -Importing into the State otherwise than for private and domestic use infringing copies of the work; -Distributing for purposes of trade, or for other purposes, but to such extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright, infringing copies of the work; -Having in one's possession a plate, knowing that it is to be used for making infringing copies of the work; -Causing a literary, dramatic or musical work to be performed in public, or a cinematograph film to be shown, in infringement of copyright, knowing that copyright subsists in the work or in the cinematograph film.

(i)Both the Gardaí and the Director of Public Prosecutions are responsible for initiating criminal proceedings. (ii)Criminal proceedings are generally initiated in response to complaints.

(i)Yes, private persons have standing to initiate criminal proceedings. (ii)Common informer: a common informer has a common law right of access to the courts to lay a complaint and to prosecute for an offence in a court of summary jurisdiction unless statute otherwise provides.

The penalty on a first offence is a fine not exceeding £100 for each article to which the offence relates, together with, in any other case, the option of imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment. Such a penalty will apply to the following offences: -Making for sale or hire; or -Selling or letting for hire or by way of trade offering or exposing for sale or hire, or for the purposes of trade having in one's possession; or -By way of trade exhibiting in public; or -Importing into the State, otherwise than for private and domestic use; or -Distributing, either for purposes of trade, or for other purposes, but to such extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright; articles in infringement of copyright. There shall be in the case of a first conviction of an offence a fine not exceeding £1,000, together with in any other case, such a fine, or at the discretion of the court, imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both such fine and such imprisonment. This shall apply to the following offences: -Having in one's possession a plate, knowing that it is to be used for making infringing copies of a work; or -Causing a literary, dramatic or musical work to be performed in public, or a cinematograph film to be shown, knowing that copyright subsists in the work or in the cinematograph film and that the performance or showing constitutes an infringement of the copyright, save that in the case of such infringement by way of television broadcast or sound broadcast, the penalty shall be on summary conviction a fine not exceeding £100. The District Court, upon the application of the owner of the copyright in a work, may if satisfied that there is reasonable ground for believing that infringing copies of the work are being hawked, carried about, sold or offered or exposed for sale, let for hire or offered or exposed for hire, by order authorize a member of the Gardaí to seize the copies without a warrant and to bring them before the court, and the court, on proof that the copies are infringing copies may order them to be destroyed or to be delivered up to the owner of the copyright or otherwise dealt with as the court may think fit. If a District Justice is satisfied by information on oath that there is reasonable ground for suspecting a copyright offence has been committed on any premises, the District Justice may grant a search warrant authorizing a named member of the Gardaí accompanied by any other members of the Gardaí as may be necessary, to enter on the premises, if need be by force, and to seize any copies of any cinematograph film or any work including plate in respect of which he has a reasonable ground for suspecting that an offence is being committed.

Length and costs of proceedings vary considerable depending on the type of case. Data would not be available on the actual duration of proceedings and their costs.