Ireland adopts innovation agenda on intellectual property

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Deutsch: Irland: Innovationen zu geistigem Eigentum


Richard Bruton, the Irish Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, said that he was determined that the Irish government should make whatever changes were necessary to allow innovative digital companies to reach their full potential in Ireland. He said that some companies have complained that the current copyright legislation did not cater well for the digital environment and created barriers to innovation and to the establishment of new business models. For this reason, he has proposed research into how the current copyright law could be amended in such a way so that it would foster innovation.

In order to achieve the aforementioned goal, Mr Bruton set up the Copyright Review Committee which, in the words of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, has the following tasks:

(1) Examine the present national copyright legislation and identify any areas that are perceived to create barriers to innovation;
(2) Identify solutions for removing these barriers and make recommendations as to how these solutions might be implemented through changes to national legislation;
(3) Examine the US style "fair use" doctrine to see if it would be appropriate in an Irish/EU context;
(4) If it transpires that national copyright legislation requires to be amended but cannot be amended, (bearing in mind that Irish copyright legislation is bound by the European Communities Directives on Copyright and Related Rights and other international obligations) make recommendations for changes to the EU Directives that will eliminate the barriers to innovation and optimise the balance between protecting creativity and promoting and facilitating innovation.

After completing these four tasks, the Copyright Review Committee will present a Report to the Government with a set of recommendations for legislative change. The Review will start with a consultation. All interested parties are invited to submit their views for inclusion in the review.

The Chair of the Review Committee will be Dr. Eoin O'Dell of Trinity College, Dublin. The other members of the Review Committee will be Professor Stephen Hedley (University College Cork) and Ms. Patricia McGovern (DFMG Solicitors). The deadline for sending submissions is the end of June 2011.

Consultation on the Review of the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation of Ireland (09.05.2011)
http://www.deti.ie/science/ipr/copyright_review_2011.htm

Radical copyright law reform to boost Ireland's digital economy?(09.05.2011)
http://siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/21695-radical-copyright-law-...

(Contribution by Daniel Dimov - intern at EDRI)