Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 304: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps he is taking to address the concerns that have been expressed regarding the proposed statutory instrument on copyright law. [9323/12]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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The proposed Statutory Instrument is intended to ensure the return to the legal position that was considered to pertain, in relation to injunctions against intermediaries, prior to a High Court judgment in October 2010. This judgment also stated that Ireland was not in compliance with its obligations under EU law.

Several concerns were expressed after the judgment by interested parties. Accordingly a public consultation was held on the wording of the proposed Statutory Instrument. This consultation was widely publicised at the time and more than 50 submissions were received. I am extremely grateful to those interested parties, groups and individuals who responded. Their submissions have proved very valuable in providing a comprehensive understanding of the differing views on the many issues involved. There was also liaison with the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

The submissions were carefully considered and legal opinion contained therein was referred to the Office of the Attorney General. I also met with several organisations with specific interests. The matter was debated in the Dáil on 31st January 2012. I made it clear then that any injunction under the proposed amendment of the Copyright Act 2000 would have to be considered in the context of the pronouncements of the Court of Justice of the European Union in judgments connected with this area.

These judgments (particularly Sabam v Scarlet and Sabam v Netlog) held that the protection of the fundamental right to intellectual property must be balanced against the protection of the fundamental rights of others who would be affected by the granting of an injunction. These rights include the right to conduct a business, to privacy, to freedom to receive and impart information. In addition, any measures proposed should not be unnecessarily complicated or costly.

Since the Lisbon Treaty, any legislation upholding EU law is bound by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

As the nature of injunctions which may be sought is infinitely varied, I consider that the best protection for balancing all the rights involved will be obtained by a careful scrutiny on a case-by-case basis of the competing interests by means of judicial process.