RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/Q/IRL/1/Add.1
21 October 1998
(98-4080)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
REVIEW OF LEGISLATION ON COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
IRELAND
Addendum
The present document reproduces Ireland's response to a question that Japan put to it1 in the
context of the follow-up to the review of legislat ion on copyright and related rights at the Council's
meeting of 22 to 25 July 1996.
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REPLY TO A QUESTION POSED BY JAPAN
In response to the questions under the review of legislation in the area of copyright and
related rights at the Council's meeting of 22-25 July 1996, the Government of Ireland has indicated
that Ireland's Copyright Acts 1963-1987 do not contain provisions as required by the TRIPS
Agreement and the Berne Convention referred to in the TRIPS Agreement, including moral rights of
authors, rental rights for producers of sound re cordings, cinematographic works and computer
programs, and that a new Copyright bill which takes account of the necessity to comply with all of
Ireland's international obligations, will be submitted to the Parliamentary Draftsman (IP/Q/IRL/1).2
Besides information in IP/Q/I RL/1/Corr.1, dated 21 November 1997, please indicate the
current status of the amendment bill and also explain specifically how the said bill brings Ireland's
Copyright Act into conformity  with the TRIPS Agreement.
The proposed Copyright and Related Rights Bill, which is at a very advanced stage of
preparation with a view to early publication, will effect a comprehensive reform of Ireland's current
legislation on copyright and related rights and will address specifically the legislative changes
necessary in order to implement Ireland's remain ing TRIPS Agreement requirements in this area.
Rental rights for computer programs are already protected in Ireland under the terms of Statutory
Instrument No. 26 of 1993.
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1 See paragraph 43 of document IP/C/M/17.
2 See the replies to questions 1 and 6, and to a follow-up question concerning, inter alia , the original
replies to these questions, posed by the United States, which are contained in document IP/Q/IRL/1.  A revised
reply to the original question 6 posed by the United States is contained in document IP/Q/IRL/1/Corr.1.