Ireland provides protection for works and phonograms in the Copyright Acts 1963 1987 and provides protection for performances in the Performers Protection Act 1968.
Section 43 of the Copyright Act 1963 confers power on the Irish Government to extend the benefit of the Irish Copyright Acts to other countries. Section 12 of the Performers Protection Act 1968 provides similar powers in respect of performances.
Irish law provides protection, inter alia, for works and phonograms from other WTO Members on the basis of national treatment in the Copyright (Foreign Countries) Order 1996 S.I. No. 36 of 1996 and provides protection for performances on the basis of national treatment in the Performers' Protection (Foreign Countries) (Amendment) Order 1996 S.I. No. 39 of 1996. These Orders extend protection under the Copyright Acts 1963 87 and under the Performers Protection Act 1968 to countries which have ratified or acceded to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization Done at Marrakesh on 15th day of April 1994.
There are, however, some of Articles 1 21 of the Berne Convention which Ireland has not so far acceded to. The Paris Act of 1971 introduced amendments to the Convention on (1) translations of official works, (2) protection of architectural works, (3) moral rights of authors, (4) anonymous and pseudonymous works, (5) ownership of rights in film and (6) the recognition of bodies established to protect the rights of unknown authors of unpublished works. The Copyright Acts 1963 1987 do not contain provisions that cover these aspects of the Paris Act. The Irish Government, however, is currently deeply involved in a review of its copyright legislation and is actively preparing a new Copyright Bill which will cover all of Ireland's international obligations.
Irish law does not provide for levies for private copying. However, this is another of the areas which we are carefully examining in preparing our new comprehensive piece of copyright legislation.
