IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Philip Tully, Emma Doherty, Geraldine Carr, Simon Shinkwin and Carlo Salizzo, Matheson LLP
7.4 Copyright Definition
Registration There are no registration formalities in Ireland for obtaining copyright protection. Copyright arises automatically on the creation of an original work. Enforcement and Remedies Copyright in Ireland is enforced by way of both civil and criminal liability. Copyright hold - ers may bring actions for damages, injunctive relief, search and seize orders, and orders for an account of profits. Infringements that may occur include: unauthorised copying of the work; • performing the work; • making the work available to the public; and • adaptation of the work. The District Court and the Circuit Court now have jurisdiction to determine intellectual prop - erty claims, including claims in relation to copy - right infringement. 7.5 Others Databases Irish law provides protection for both original databases and “non-original” databases where substantial investment has been incurred in obtaining, verifying or presenting the contents of the database. Original databases are those in which the contents constitute the original intel - lectual content of the author. The protections for databases under Irish law prevent the unlawful extraction or re-utilisation of a substantial part of the database. Where a copyrighted work is included in a data - base, copyright will continue in that work and the separate database protections.
Copyright is an intellectual property right which features mainly in but is not exclusive to the cultural, arts and information technology sec - tors. It is the legal form of protection used by the creators or authors of such works to protect the tangible form of all or part of their individual works. Irish law specifically recognises copyright in computer software as a literary work. Length of Protection The duration of copyright protection varies according to the format of the work. • For literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and original databases, copyright pro - tection expires 70 years after the death of the author/creator. • For films, copyright protection expires 70 years after the last to die out of: the director, the author of the screenplay, the author of the dialogue of the film, or the author of the music composed for use in the film. • For sound recordings, copyright protection expires 50 years after the sound recording is made or, if the recording is made available to the public, then 70 years from the date it was made available to the public. • Copyright protection for broadcasts ends 50 years after they are first transmitted. • Copyright protection for computer-generated works ends 70 years after the date they are first made available to the public. There are some exceptions under Irish law which reflect instances where the wider public inter - est, or the interests of particular groups, make it necessary to restrict or limit the rights granted to copyright owners.
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