The Gazette 1992

GAZETTE

MARCH 1992

arrangement to that prevailing in the

12th edition, the result of which is,

in effect, that the book has been

rewritten.

Prior to the passage of the 1988 Act

the law in the UK was covered by

the Copyright Act, 1956. As the 13th

edition rather acidly remarks of our

own Copyright Act, 1963: " I t has

considerable

resemblances to the

1956 Act." In fact the Irish Act has

been referred to with tongue in

cheek as a good example in itself of

breach of copyright. The only

substantial difference between the

1963 Act and the UK 1956 Act was

that the Irish government declined to

create a Performing Rights Tribunal

but instead vested the arbitration

arrangements in relation to the

statutory licences and the licensing

schemes with the Controller of

Industrial and Commercial Property

whose main occupation was to look

after the Patents Office. This was an

obvious cost cutting measure in the

expectation (until recently proved

correct) that the services of a

much called upon in Ireland.

As a result, the law was very much

the same in Ireland as in the UK

until the passage of the 1988 Act in

the UK and the 12th edition is

therefore still vitally relevant to the

practitioner in Ireland today. The

13th edition does refer back to the

1956 Act for comparative purposes

but it is harder to read a textbook to

deduce the Irish position from

references to a position which no

longer prevails.

However, the new edition does

provide an excellent section on the

impact of the EC and the decisions

of the Court of Justice particularly

dealing with the cases involving

section on the copyright position in

the US is also extremely useful. It

gives to the practitioner as concise

an exposition as he is likely to come

across of the extraordinarily

complicated copyright position in

that jurisdiction which is the only

system where an effective copyright

registry is operated. The changes

brought about in the US in the mid

1970s brought the US copyright

arrangements somewhat more in line

with international practice and

various amendments since have

allowed for what must be one of the

most historic events in international

accession of the US to the Berne

Convention in 1989 more than 100

years after the original Convention

was originally entered into.

The 13th edition has an excellent

appendix dealing with UK legislation,

US legislation and international

conventions. It has a short schedule

of precedents which would be of more

use to counsel rather than solicitors,

even in the UK as it is primarily

directed towards the drafting of

pleadings. Solicitors dealing with

contracts would be more inclined to

use the now very detailed precedents

in circulation amongst that relatively

small community in London and even

smaller community in Dublin with a

nod to Butterworths excellent

precedents.

The new edition is obviously to be

welcomed overall in anticipation of

the likely reform of the copyright

law in Ireland over the next few

years. As with many other areas of

law, law reform in this area in

Ireland is being driven by the very

rapid developments taking place in

Brussels. It is believed that a text

book on Irish copyright law is in the

offing from a member of the inner

bar, the only difficulty being the

prospect of almost immediate

obsolescence with the passage of a

new Act.

It is likely that a new Irish Act may

substantially diverge from the 1988

Act not only in recognition of some

of the difficulties which have arisen

in relation to it, but also in response

to the pressure from elements both

in the entertainment industry and the

EC in relation to such issues as the

blank audio tape levy which was not

introduced in the UK. There are

already a number of references

pending, or about to be filed, with

the Controller in Ireland, as well as

the very busy anti-piracy activity, an

increasing volume of work in the

areas of films, television and music

and the uses of copyright in

industrial and computer related

services. There is little doubt that

what was previously a much

neglected area will receive

considerably more attention in the

future.

James Hickey

Annual Review of Irish Law, 1990.

By R. Byrne and W. Binchy

[Dublin, The Round Hall Press,

1991, hardback, IR £65]

The writer of this notice was recently

pleased to write a brief recension of

the

Annual Review.

He wrote that the

multiplicity of laws (including case

law) would make Malthus stand

aghast. More than ever the law has

become an exacting profession

demanding of her devotees ever

increasing knowledge. The writer

concluded by stating that the

Annual

Review

provided a rich analysis on a

wide spectrum of law and should be a

treasured part of every lawyers's

library.

Sometimes the flexibility of language

is stretched by certain reviewers;

some reviewers have a facility for

euphemisms, optimistic cliches and

skilful literary camouflage which

must be read with some care. This

writer can state categorically that his

(humble) recommendation that the

Annual Review

should be a treasured

part of every lawyer's library was no

empty shibboleth.

This short notice is addressed to two

sets of readers. Those who possess a

copy of previous

Annual Reviews

should note that the present

Annual

Review

exceeds expectations. To

those who have never purchased a

copy of a previous review, the writer

will explain what the

Annual Review

attempts to achieve. The 1990

volume is the fourth in the series

and provides practitioners, academics

and students with an analytical and

perceptive account of the legal

output of the courts, the Oireachtas,

scholars and practitioners during the

year in question. Every decision of

the High Court, Court of Criminal

Appeal and Supreme Court is