Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the introduction of this Bill. During my past lecturing in law I did some work in the area of intellectual property so I am aware of what a minefield it can be and of how dry and technical in nature it is while nonetheless involving very important issues of the public good, as we heard when the Minister of State was speaking on the various sections. Perhaps even more of a minefield is the fact that we are in this age of Internet downloads, streaming, data mining, social media, and so on, all of which have really forced us to look again at how we should balance the rights of copyright holders with the realities of modern communications and the use of copyrighted material. This Bill is exceptionally detailed and technical legislation. It strikes a good balance between protecting copyright holders and taking account of the modern world and the desire for, or desirability of, reasonable use of copyrighted material in reasonable circumstances, such as use in educational settings. The fact that these issues are being addressed by the Oireachtas sends a good message about Ireland as a knowledge economy in which innovation and information are valued and their importance understood and in which people can profit from their ideas as a result of them being protected to a reasonable degree within our laws.

In particular I welcome the provisions of the Bill which allow intellectual property infringement actions to be brought before the District or Circuit Courts within these courts' jurisdiction. I recently spoke in the House on the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill and made the point that we are in danger of our courts system being brought into disrepute not by cronyism or judicial bias, as the Minister, Deputy Ross, would have us believe, but by a combination of delays caused by judicial vacancies, particularly at appellate level, and by high costs which act as a barrier to access to the courts. There is also still a range of areas where actions are reserved to the jurisdiction of the High Court alone. It is good to see one of these being taken back for consideration by the lower courts, as arises here. Allowing infringement actions of lesser value to be brought at District and Circuit Court level is a positive step as it will allow rightsholders who may be of limited resources to pursue an action to protect their rights where they might otherwise have been afraid to do so due to the cost of a High Court action.An important principle that people talk about is access to justice. The cost of justice is inseparable from that question of access to justice. From that perspective in particular, I welcome this legislation as well as welcoming it generally.