Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to be in the Seanad today to present the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025 for consideration on Second Stage. The Bill was published on 13 June 2025 and initiated in the Dáil on 19 June. Committee Stage took place at the Select Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment on 17 July and 12 November. The Bill was passed by Dáil Éireann on 21 January 2026.The short Bill introduces amendments to the Copyright and Related Rights Act, as amended, that are necessary following the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered in September 2020. The ruling found that Ireland had not adequately transposed a 2006 EU copyright directive, the rental and lending directive, in relation to the sharing of royalty payments between producers and performers of recorded music and was not fully compliant with international copyright conventions, the World Intellectual Property Organization Performances and Phonograms Treaty, WTTP, and the Rome Convention.

The State had not provided clear obligations for producers to share royalties and performers and we had not ensured that equal treatment is provided to nationals outside the European Economic Area that are party to international copyright conventions. The Bill will restore Irish legislation, the copyright Act, in this regard to full compliance with EU international law. The Bill sets out a new process for the agreement of division of royalties between music performers and producers, extends application to nationals outside the EEA that are party to international copyright treaties and grants the function of final arbitration of disputes to the Circuit Court.

I will now briefly set out the Bill section by section. The Bill contains five sections. Section 1 defines the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 as the principal Act amended by this Bill. Section 2 amends section 208 of the copyright Act. This relates to the matter of equitable remuneration as provided for by Directive 2006/115/EC, the rental and lending directive. It provides for the deletion of the existing subsections 208(4) to 208(9) and the insertion of five new subsections, subsections (3A) to (3E), inclusive.

These new sections are as follows. Section 208(3A) provides for a default split of equal parts of payments between producers and performers less reasonable collecting costs. This default 50:50 split is similarly provided for in two thirds of EU member states. Section 208(3B) provides that the proportion of single equitable remuneration payable to the performer and the owner of a sound recording may be agreed by or on behalf of the parties concerned, similarly to the current section 208(4). The new section 208(3C) provides that in instances where parties cannot reach agreement, and where at least one party objects to the default 50:50 arrangement, that party - either performer, copyright owner or both - may bring the matter before the Circuit Court to obtain a determination on the manner of the division of the single equitable payment.

On Report Stage in the Dáil, a further amendment to section 2 was passed. This amendment provided for the insertion of three further subsections, namely, subsections (3F), (3G) and 3(H). These subsections ensure that where an adjudication has been made by the Circuit Court, either party may apply to the court for a further determination if circumstances have changed, provided at least one year has passed since the original ruling.

Section 3(1) inserts a new section, which allows that any applications made under the existing section 208, and which have not been fully determined, will be transferred to the Circuit Court. Sections 3(2) to 3(4), inclusive, provide for the appeal process on points of law, from the Circuit Court to the High Court, and from the High Court to the Court of Appeal. Section 3(4) provides that any existing agreements made under the current section 208(4) remain valid.

During the Bill's passage through Dáil Eireann, a lot of attention was addressed to the fact that the Bill removes the function of final arbitration in disputes from the Controller of Intellectual Property and transfers this function to the Circuit Court. This is viewed by some as disadvantaging performers.Let me be clear. The Bill, in providing a clear 50:50 default sharing of payments between performers and producers, will make it highly unlikely that disputes as to the sharing of equitable remuneration will occur precisely because the 50:50 default is enshrined in the law. Cases requiring an application to the Circuit Court should therefore only arise in exceptional circumstances.

Section 4 provides for an amendment to the definition of “qualifying country” contained in section 287 of the Act to include performers who are residents of countries that are contracting parties to the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty and the Rome Convention. This brings Irish law in line with our international obligations.

Section 5 of the Bill provides for preliminary and general provisions setting out the Short Title of the Bill and how the Bill is commenced. This will be done by an order of the Minister. It is intended that sections 2 and 4 will commence shortly after the Bill is enacted, and a slightly later commencement date will apply for section 3.

It is essential that we enact this Bill to ensure that the State is fully compliant with the 2006 EU copyright directive as found by the Court of Justice of the European Union judgment of September 2020. A robust and well-functioning legal framework supporting copyright and intellectual property more broadly is essential for the economic well-being of the creative sector, which employs approximately 80,000 people in this country and contributes enormous value in terms of creativity and innovation. I commend the Bill to the House and look forward to engaging with the Senators on this matter.