The full Act can be accessed at : http://www.gov.ie/bills28/acts/2000/a2800.pdf

However, the following are imporant sections: -

Section 17
Copyright and copyright works

17.-
(1) Copyright is a property right whereby, subject to this Act, the owner of the copyright in any work may undertake or authorise other persons in relation to that work to undertake certain acts in the State, being acts which are designated by this Act as acts restricted by copyright in a work of that description.

(2) Copyright subsists, in accordance with this Act, in -

(a) original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works,

(b) sound recordings, films, broadcasts or cable programmes,

(c) the typographical arrangement of published editions, and

(d) original databases.

(3) Copyright protection shall not extend to the ideas and principles which underlie any element of a work, procedures, methods of operation or mathematical concepts and, in respect of original databases, shall not extend to their contents and is without prejudice to any rights subsisting in those contents.

(4) Copyright shall not subsist in a work unless the requirements for copyright protection specified in this Part with respect to qualification are complied with.

(5) Copyright shall not subsist in a work which infringes, or to the extent that it infringes, the copyright in another work.

(6) Copyright shall not subsist in a work which is, or to the extent that it is, a copy taken from a work which has been previously made available to the public.

* In brief: Copyright exists in sound recordings (eg CDs, Cassettes, LPs, Minidiscs, etc) and in films which include music videos.

Section 37
Act restricted by copyright in a work

37.-
(1) Subject to the exceptions specified in Chapter 6 and to
any provisions relating to licensing in this Part, the owner of the
copyright in a work has the exclusive right to undertake or authorise
others to undertake all or any of the following acts, namely:

(a) to copy the work;

(b) to make available to the public the work;

(c) to make an adaptation of the work or to undertake either of the acts referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) in relation to an adaptation, and those acts shall be known and in this Act referred to as ''acts restricted by copyright''.

(2) The copyright in a work is infringed by a person who without the licence of the copyright owner undertakes, or authorises another to undertake, any of the acts restricted by copyright.

(3) References to the undertaking of an act restricted by the copyright in a work shall relate to the work as a whole or to any substantial part of the work and to whether the act is undertaken directly or indirectly.

* In brief: It is a breach of copyright in a sound recording or music video to copy it, make it available to the public or to adapt it.

 

Section 38
Playing of sound recordings - licenses of right

38.-
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 37, where a person proposes to-

(a) play a sound recording in public, or

(b) include a sound recording in a broadcast or a cable programme service,

he or she may do so as of right where he or she-

(i) agrees to make payments in respect of such playing or inclusion in a broadcast or a cable programme service to a licensing body, and

(ii) complies with the requirements of this section.

(2) A person may avail of the right to play a sound recording in public or to include a sound recording in a broadcast or a cable programme service, where he or she-

(a) gives notice to each licensing body concerned of his or her intention to play sound recordings in public or include sound recordings in a broadcast or a cable programme service,

(b) informs each of those bodies of the date on and from which he or she intends to play sound recordings in public or include sound recordings in a broadcast or a cable programme service,

(c) makes payments to the licensing body at intervals of not less than 3 months in arrears,

(d) complies with any reasonable conditions relating to payments under this section as may be notified to him or her by the licensing body from time to time, and

(e) complies with any reasonable requests for information from the licensing body to enable it to calculate and manage payments under this section.

(3) A person who satisfies the conditions specified in subsection (2) shall be deemed to be in the same position as regards infringement of copyright as if he or she had been the holder of a licence granted by the owner of the copyright in question at all material times.

(4) Where the person intending to play sound recordings in public or to include sound recordings in a broadcast or a cable programme service and the licensing body fail to reach agreement as to fair payment under subsection (2) within a reasonable time, the terms of the proposed agreement shall be referred to the Controller for determination of the amount and terms of payment.

(5) In the case of a dispute referred to the Controller under subsection (4), a person shall not exercise the right conferred by subsection (1)unless he or she-

(a) gives reasonable notice to the Controller that he or she has commenced or intends to commence the playing of sound
recordings in public and that a dispute has arisen between him or her and the licensing body concerned as to the terms of payment and the exercise of the right; and

(b) applies to the Controller for a determination under
subsection (4).

(6) Where the terms of a proposed agreement are referred to the Controller under subsection (4) a person shall not exercise a right conferred by subsection (1) unless he or she-

(a) gives notice in writing to the Controller of his or her intention to exercise the right, and of the date on which he or she proposes to begin to do so, and

(b) applies in writing to the Controller for a determination under subsection (4).

(7) On an application to settle the terms of payment being referred to the Controller, he or she shall consider the matter and make such order as he or she may determine to be reasonable in the circumstances and that order shall take effect on and from the date on which the applicant begins to exercise the right, and any necessary repayments or further payments shall be made in respect of amounts which, in consequence of the terms of the order, have fallen due.

(8) Where no request for payment has been made by the licensing body, or where the amount requested by the licensing body is disputed by the person exercising the right then, pending the making of an order by the Controller under subsection (7), the person exercising the right shall pay to the licensing body such amount as he or she considers reasonable, and shall notify the licensing body and the Controller of his or her intention to do so.

(9) A person exercising the right conferred by subsection (1), or who has given notice to the Controller of his or her intention to do so, may also refer to the Controller the question of-

(a) whether any condition relating to payment, notice of which has been given to him or her by the licensing body concerned is a reasonable condition, or

(b) whether any licence condition, notice of which has been given to him or her by the licensing body in question, is a reasonable condition, or

(c) whether any information required by the licensing body is information which the licensing body can reasonably require him or her to provide.

(10) Where a reference is made under subsection (9), the Controller shall consider the matter and make such order as he or she may determine to be reasonable in the circumstances.

(11) A person exercising the right conferred by subsection (1) or a licensing body may apply to the Controller to review any order under subsection (7) or (10).

(12) An application under subsection (11) may not be made except with the special leave of the Controller-

(a) within 12 months from the date of the order or of the decision on a previous application under this section, or

(b) where the order was made so as to be in force for 15 months or less or, as a result of the decision on a previous application, is due to expire within 15 months of that decision, until at least 3 months before the expiration of the order.

(13) Where an application is made under subsection (11), the Controller shall consider the matter and make such order confirming or varying the original order as he or she may determine to be reasonable in the circumstances and any order made under this subsection shall be for such period as may be specified by the Controller.

(14) This section shall not apply in any circumstances where sound recordings are made available to the public by wire or wireless means in such a way that members of the public may access the sound recordings from a place and at a time individually chosen by them (including the making available of copies of sound recordings through the Internet).

(15) Notwithstanding section 149, in this section ''licensing body'' means a society, a company registered under the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1999, or other organisation which has as one of its objects the negotiation or granting of licences to play sound recordings in public or to include sound recordings in broadcasts or cable programme services, either as owner or prospective owner of copyright in the said sound recording or as his or her exclusive licensee, agent or designated representative and shall include a human person who has the right to negotiate or grant a licence to play sound recordings in public or to include sound recordings in broadcasts or cable programme services, either as owner or prospective owner of copyright in the sound recordings.

* Summary: You can play music as of right PROVIDED that you comply with the terms of this Section. You must: -

• Give notice to PPI when you intend to do so
• Pay the appropriate PPI tariff
• Comply with any reasonable conditions imposed by PPI
• Comply with any reasonable requests for information from PPI to enable it to calculate and manage payments.

  If you don't agree with the PPI tariff, then you can still play music PROVIDED you pay whatever you consider reasonable at intervals of not less than three months in arrears and give notice to the Controller of Patents, Designs and Trademarks: -
  

• That you intend to play recordings in public
• That you dispute the PPI tariff, or any condition imposed by PPI, or whether any information requested by PPI is reasonable and
• You must inform the Controller of the amount that you are paying to PPI which you say that you consider reasonable.

  AND you must apply to the Controller for a determination of the amount you should pay.

  The address of the Controller is:
  Government Buildings, Hebron Road, Kilkenny.

Section 39
Reproduction Right

39.-
(1) References in this Part to copying shall be construed as including references to all or any of the following, namely:

(a) in relation to work

(i) storing work in any medium,

(ii) the making of copies which are transient or incidental to some other use of the work;

(b) in relation to an artistic work, the making of a copy in three dimensions of a two dimensional work and the making of a copy in two dimensions of a three dimensional work;

(c) in relation to a film, television broadcast or cable programme, making a photograph of the whole or a substantial part of any image forming part of the film, broadcast or programme;

(d) in relation to a typographical arrangement of a published edition, making a reprographic copy of the arrangement.

(2) There shall be a right of the owner of copyright to copy a work or to authorise others to do so which shall be known and in this Part referred to as the "reproduction right".

* Note: PPI administers some parts of the reproduction right (the dubbing right) on behalf of Record Companies (ie the making of copies of sound recordings for the purpose of supplying music compilations for background music).

Section 40
Making available right

40.-
(1) References in this Part to the making available to the public of a work shall be construed as including all or any of the following, namely:

(a) making available to the public of copies of the work, by wire or wireless means, in such a way that members of the public may access the work from a place and at a time chosen by them (including the making available of copies of works through the Internet);

(b) performing, showing or playing a copy of the work in public;

(c) broadcasting a copy of the work;

(d) including a copy of the work in a cable programme service;

(e) issuing copies of the work to the public;

(f) renting copies of the work;

(g) lending copies of the work without the payment of remuneration to the owner of the copyright in the work, and references to ''lawfully making available to the public'' shall mean the undertaking of any of the acts referred to in paragraphs

(a) to (g) by or with the licence of the copyright owner.

(2) References in this Part to the making available to the public of copies of a work shall include the making available to the public of the original of the work.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), the provision of facilities for enabling the making available to the public of copies of a work shall not of itself constitute an act of making available to the public of copies of the work.

(4) Without prejudice to subsection (3), where a person who provides facilities referred to in that subsection is notified by the owner of the copyright in the work concerned that those facilities are being used to infringe the copyright in that work and that person fails to remove that infringing material as soon as practicable thereafter that person shall also be liable for the infringement.

(5) Without prejudice to subsection (4), the Minister may prescribe the form of the notice to be given under that subsection and the form shall specify-

(a) the name and address of the person claiming to be the owner of the copyright in the work concerned,

(b) the grounds that the person requesting the removal of material has for such removal, and

(c) a list of the material which is to be removed.

(6) References in this Part to ''performance'', in relation to a work, shall include-

(a) delivery, in the case of lectures, addresses, speeches and sermons, and

(b) any means of presentation of sounds or images, or any combination of sounds or images or representations thereof, including presentation by means of a sound recording, film, broadcast or cable programme of the work.

(7) Where copyright in a work is infringed by its being performed, played or shown in public, by means of apparatus for receiving sounds, images or data or any combination of sounds, images or data, or the representations thereof, conveyed by any means, the person by whom sounds, images or data or any combination of sounds, images or data, or the representations thereof, are sent shall not be regarded as liable for the infringement and a performer shall not be regarded as liable for the infringement to the extent that the infringement relates to his or her activity as a performer.

(8) There shall be a right of the owner of copyright to make available to the public copies of a work or to authorise others to do so which shall be known and in this Part referred to as the ''making available right''.

* Note: The rights which PPI administers on behalf of Record Companies are at Section 40 (1) (b) and (c).