Dáil debates
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Illegal Downloading of Copyright Material
8:00 am
John Cregan (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this important issue and I thank the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation for coming to the Chamber to reply to the debate.
This issue was discussed in the Seanad before Christmas and it has been the subject of High Court proceedings and a ruling by Mr. Justice Charleton. However, the issue has not gone away and needs to be addressed by the Government at the earliest opportunity.
Illegal downloading of music, films and computer games is widespread. The music and other creative industries are being badly hit by this illegal activity and many jobs are being lost. That is regrettable, while the Government is making every effort to put people back to work. In recent weeks the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, has announced several new jobs. We can stop people losing their jobs if we tackle this issue quickly. Yesterday in Galway, further jobs were lost with the closure of retail units. Their owners laid the blame at the door of illegal downloading.
There is a solution to this problem. Mr. Justice Charleton referred to the further enactment of EU regulations and legislation and I ask the Minister to consider this. Something must be done.
There is cross-party agreement on this issue in both Houses. We are all proud of our artists, entertainers, singers, dancers, musicians and film makers and we have supported those industries for many years. We have produced world class artists and we are proud of that. An artist's work is to record an album or make a film and he or she is paid for that by the sale of the end product. That has been the tradition and a number of retail outlets have prospered over the years from artistic activity. Unfortunately, the trend is changing with the advent of technology and illegal downloading. I regret that this development is causing difficulty for our artists and related retail outlets. The time is now right to support these people.
In recent weeks, there has been much mention of the legislative programme to be implemented in the lifetime of the Government. I ask the Minister to give priority to this problem. This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.
Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy John Cregan for raising this extremely important issue and assure him that it will get my priority attention.
As regards the issue of illegal downloading of copyright material on the Internet, the first point I would make is that rights' holders of such copyright material already have a legal remedy to pursue anyone downloading such material. Under existing legislation, any person who illegally uploads or downloads unlicensed music is liable for copyright infringement under the terms of the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000. Such a person, whose internet protocol, IP, address may be identified through various detection methods, may be pursued by the copyright holder following a judicial process - the obtaining of a Norwich Pharmacal Order from the courts. Under this procedure, a court may order an Internet service provider, ISP, to disclose the names of the alleged infringers through their IP addresses, subject to certain safeguards. This procedure has been used on a number of occasions in this jurisdiction already and is not affected by the recent judgment to which the Deputy refers.
The judgment concerned, which was handed down by Mr. Justice Charleton in the High Court case between EMI Records (Ireland) Limited, Sony Music Entertainment Ireland Limited, Universal Music Ireland Limited, Warner Music Ireland Limited and WEA International Incorporated on the one hand, and UPC Communications Ireland Limited on the other, relates to actions taken against Internet service providers. The judgment is a very complex one and has been examined very carefully both by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
Essentially, the recording companies concerned sought injunctions against UPC, an Internet service provider, on the downloading of copyright material over the Internet, and the court declined to grant such injunctions in the circumstances set out. The area concerned is a very complicated one and it encompasses issues such as the illegal downloading of copyright material, the treatment of Internet service providers in such circumstances, the obligations imposed on member states by European Union law and the upcoming requirement for Ireland to transpose the 2009 Framework Directive on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services.
Mr. Justice Charleton's judgment is a lengthy one, running to 78 pages, and, in its ruling, it ranges across the various provisions in copyright, e-commerce and national telecommunications legislation and the relevant European law in each of those areas. Having obtained a copy of the judgment, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation referred it to the Attorney General's office for advice and this advice has now been received. The Attorney General advice is being considered by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and any necessary actions will be taken as a matter of priority.
As the matter obviously has implications for Internet service providers, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation will continue to liaise with both the Attorney General and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to ensure that any measures adopted do not impose any unnecessarily onerous obligations on the Internet service provider.
As Minister with responsibility for intellectual property, I am concerned to ensure that the interests of rights' holders in respect of copyright and performances are upheld and are not infringed by illegal activity on the Internet or elsewhere. I must also, however, have regard to the position of Ireland's information and telecommunications industry and, in particular, that of our Internet service providers.
Articles 12 to 14 of the European e-commerce directive, for example, provide defences to Internet service providers who transmit digital content, including copyright material, by electronic means on the Internet. These have been transposed, in Ireland, through regulations 16 to 18 of SI 68 of 2003. Regulation 16 provides that Internet service providers are not liable for information transmitted by them in a communication network, where an Internet service provider establishes that it is a mere conduit or carrier of information. Regulation 17 similarly covers caching or temporary storage. Regulation 18 deals similarly with hosting or permanent storage. However, these regulations do not affect the power of any court to make an order against an Internet service provider requiring the provider not to infringe, or to cease to infringe, any legal rights.
At present, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation is in further consultation with the Office of the Attorney General. We want further clarification as to the content of any measures that might be introduced. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate that while I am not in a position to comment any further on the detail of the document, I am determined to bring it to a conclusion and to take the necessary actions at the earliest possible date.