Sir, - Is The Irish Times unaware of the copyright Bill (Copyright and Related Rights Bill, 1999) which is making its tortuous way through our lawmaking system? I can recall fewer than 10 short newspapers items in the past few months referring to any aspect of the Dail, Seanad or Dail Committee stages of the Bill.
The Artists Association of Ireland is concerned primarily with how visual artists' copyright fares in the new Bill. While I appreciate that this aspect is of limited interest, I am unable to understand why the media is virtually ignoring the entire Bill. There is a consensus that Ireland's future prospects involve development of a thriving knowledge-based economy. Such an economy must have an appropriate infrastructure in which to thrive. An essential infrastructural element of a knowledge-based economy is good intellectual property legislation - of which copyright is one element - buttressed by effective systems to manage intellectual property rights.
Politicians have said the copyright Bill is the most complex single piece of legislation they have ever had to deal with. It is certainly one of the most comprehensive bills ever tabled in the Dail, bringing Irish copyright law from the pre-photocopier era to the digital age. The Bill, despite its importance, only became a priority in the legislative schedule when the World Trade Organisation pressed charges against the Irish Government for failing its international obligations. Ireland has also been found guilty of failing to implement two EU directives on aspects of copyright, and there are two more charges outstanding.
However, there is a perception among politicians that there are no votes in copyright - a perception with some validity given the low level of awareness among the general public, and one which is reinforced by the media's failure to give coverage to this Bill. We are into a vicious circle here, one which is highly likely to result in flawed legislation.
Given The Irish Times' position as a paper of record, is there something you can do, even at this late stage? One commentator maintains that the media's silence is an editorial stance determined by media owners' defence of their own copyright, i.e. they are serving their own vested interests rather than the public interest. Is this just a cynical distortion? Or is there some truth in it? - Yours, etc., Stella Coffey,
Executive director, Artists Association of Ireland, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.