Law Society of Ireland

Lobbying Organisation Law Society of Ireland

Date published 20 Jan, 2017

Relevant Matter Legislation

Public Policy Area Justice and Equality

Period 1 Sep, 2016 to 31 Dec, 2016

Specific Details Public consultation on the overlap of intellectual property protection between industrial designs and copyright law, and prospective amendment to the Copyright and Related Rights Acts 2000 - 2007.

Intended results The Society provided suggestions as to additional information required to assess the impact of amendments to the Act The Society also advocated that a pragmatic approach be adopted in respect of a transitional period and the commencement of prospective amendments.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Ken Murphy, Director General

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Submission (1)

The question of impact on business is not easily considered with any degree of granularity without information on the number of businesses that currently rely on sections 31A and 78B of the CRRA, the value of that part of their business and the financial implications of adjusting their practices. Information on the number of affected rights-owners would assist in this assessment, such as regarding the number of items that will be protected by copyright following the change of law, the number of rights-owners that compete with businesses who rely on the above sections, the costs and consequences of this competition and any loss associated with purported consumer confusion amongst the relevant Irish market between licensed copies and replicas. Regardless of whether a short or longer transitional period is chosen, we suggest the Department should engage immediately and effectively with affected sectors to publicise the proposed changes and encourage early business decisions.

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Dermot Mulligan Assistant Secretary (Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation)