Online Patent Guide

What is a patent?

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A patent confers upon its holder, for a limited period, the right to exclude others from exploiting (making, using, selling, importing) the patented invention, except with the consent of the owner of the patent.

A patent is a form of 'industrial property', which can be assigned, transferred, licensed or used by the owner.

Patents are territorial, in effect e.g. an Irish patent is only valid in Ireland.

How long does a patent last?

Irish patents, in common with most jurisdictions, have a maximum life span of twenty years. Ireland also offers a "short-term" patent, valid for a maximum of ten years. To maintain a patent in force, annual renewal fees must be paid each year from the third year.

Patent pending

This is a term often used on products to alert competitors that an application has been made to protect the invention.

Types of Patents

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There are two types of Irish patents available.

(1) Full-term patents

These patents allow the inventor/applicant protection for up to 20 years. For a full-term patent to be granted, the applicant must provide evidence of the invention's novelty. This can be done by requesting a "Search Report" from the Office, or by submitting evidence of novelty.

(2) Short-term patents

Short-term patents are designed to assist smaller inventors. These patents can also suit inventions where a shorter market life is expected, or inventions that are not technologically complex. These patents last for a maximum of ten years, and the applicant does not need to provide evidence of the invention's novelty. This effectively reduces the costs and length of time involved in getting an invention patented.

Because procedures are generally simpler, short-term patents can be granted reasonably quickly and well within 12 months from the filing date if requirements are complied with promptly. If applications are made for both a short-term patent and a full-term patent in respect of the same invention, the short-term patent will become void when the full-term patent is granted.

With some exceptions, the provisions relating to full-term patent applications and patents also apply to short-term patent applications and short-term patents. The main exceptions are:

(i) The specification of a short-term patent application must not include more than five claims. The requirements of novelty and industrial applicability apply but instead of non-obviousness, it is sufficient that the invention be "not clearly lacking an inventive step". Neither a search report nor evidence of novelty in the form of a foreign patent specification is required in order that a short-term patent be granted.

(ii) The filing fee, grant fee and renewal fees are only 50% of those for a full-term patent; and generally the procedures are simpler. This will be of particular interest to small enterprises and single inventors.

(iii) Infringement proceedings can be brought in the Circuit Court (or in the High Court, as is required for full-term patents) irrespective of the amount of a claim.

(iv) Before taking an action for infringement the owner of the short-term patent must either (a) request the Controller to have a search report prepared and send a copy of the report to the alleged infringer or (b) if a foreign search report or patent specification is available, furnish copies of such reports to the Controller as well as the alleged infringer. The reports referred to at (a) or (b) are published by the Controller.

(v) A person other than the owner of the short-term patent whose legitimate business interests require a novelty search and who can show grounds for suspecting that the invention lacks novelty or is clearly lacking in inventive step may also request the
Controller to have a search report prepared. Such a search report is published by the Controller.

Search Report/Evidence of Novelty

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For a Full-term patent to be granted, the novelty and non-obviousness of the invention must be established. There are two ways of achieving this; by means of a Search Report, or the provision of Evidence of Novelty.

Search Report

A Search Report has to be requested by the applicant to determine the novelty and non-obviousness of the invention of the patent application. An applicant must request it within twenty-one months of the application's filing date or the priority date, if priority was claimed. Otherwise, the application will be refused. The Controller, upon receipt of this request accompanied by the prescribed fee, will have a Search Report on the invention prepared.

A Search Report will list published documents considered relevant in assessing whether the claimed invention is new and not an obvious development or adaptation of what is already known. A copy of the Search Report will be issued to the applicant.
Unless the patent application is withdrawn within two months of issue of the Report to the applicant, the Report is then published by the Controller; i.e. this means that anyone can view the Search Report. Withdrawal of the application might arise where the applicant, in the light of the Search Report, concluded that there was no point in taking the patent application further. If the patent application is not withdrawn the patent agent acting for the applicant will be required either to make amendments to the application based on the Search Report or provide a statement that no amendment is considered necessary. Failure to comply with these requirements may lead to the refusal of the application.

Evidence of Novelty

There is an alternative to requesting the preparation by the Controller of a Search Report. An applicant who has also applied for a patent for the same invention to the United Kingdom, German or European Patent Offices, or who has applied under the Patent Co-operation Treaty, can submit a statement to that effect; the statement must be submitted within the twenty-one months of the application's filing date or the priority date, claimed. In this situation, a copy of the Search Report prepared in respect of the foreign application, or a copy of the published specification of the patent granted by either the UK or German or the European Patent Office may be submitted to the Controller as evidence of Novelty and must be produced by the applicant within two months of the publication of the search report or grant of the patent, accompanied by the prescribed fee.

Evidence of Novelty will be published unless the application is withdrawn.
If the application is not withdrawn the patent agent acting for the applicant will be required either to amend the application in the light of the Search Report or the patent specification (whichever applies in the particular case) or to furnish a statement that no amendment is considered necessary. Failure to comply with this requirement may lead to the refusal of the application.

(The procedures relating to the search report/evidence of novelty do not apply to applications for short-term patents)

Supplementary Protection Certificate

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A supplementary protection certificate (SPC) may be obtained in relation to individual medicinal and plant protection products disclosed in a patent. The certificate extends the protection conferred by the patent beyond its 20-year term for a period of up to five years.

Medicinal products, and many agricultural chemicals, require market authorisation before they can be sold commercially. Though this process is independent of the patent granting procedure, the owner of such inventions may find that though they have a patent for their product, they may still have to wait for a number of years before they obtain the necessary authorisation to market it. SPCs compensate the patentee for this loss of time, by extending the patent protection for specific products by up to five years.

An SPC does not extend the duration of the patent itself, but only the protection for the specific product subject to market authorisation.

What is Patentable?

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In order to be eligible for the grant of a valid patent the invention must be new, involve an inventive step and be capable of industrial application.

Novelty: An invention is considered new if it does not form part of the state of the art. The state of the art comprises everything made available to the public in any way, anywhere in the world, before the date of filing of the patent application.
Inventive step: An invention is considered as involving an inventive step if it is not obvious to a person skilled in that area of technology, having regard to the state of the art.
Industrial applicability: The invention must be capable of being made or used in some kind of industry, including agriculture.

Why Patent Inventions?

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Since a patent confers legal rights concerning the exploitation of an invention, it allows the owner the best opportunity to profit from the invention by preventing others from copying it. An inventor does not need a patent in order to exploit an invention; but without a patent the inventor would not be able to prevent others from copying the invention.

Inventors are often not in a position to produce or market their invention from their own resources. Patents, being a form of commercial property, provide a basis for owners to negotiate with potential investors or other business partners while preserving their intellectual property rights.

The prospect of gaining profits from this special form of protection serves to promote research activity and to give an incentive for new investment. Income derived from a patented invention developed in Ireland may be eligible for special favourable tax treatment.

Excluded Subject Matter

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Excluded Subject Matter and exceptions to patentability

Not all inventions qualify for the grant of a patent. The Patents Act specifically excludes the following subjects from patentability:

(i) Discoveries and aesthetic creations:

A discovery, a scientific theory or a mathematical method;
An aesthetic creation;
A scheme, rule or method for performing a mental act, playing a game or doing business, or a computer program; or
The presentation of information.

Although such subject matter or activities are not patentable their use or application may be patentable. For example, a scheme or method for playing a game is not patentable, but it is possible to obtain patent protection for a novel apparatus for playing a game. Also, the exclusion from patentability of computer programs does not prevent the granting of patents for inventions involving the use of such programs, as long as a technical effect is achieved by its implementation.

Software

While it is not possible to obtain a patent on software per se, patents may be granted for inventions requiring the use of software to achieve their purpose. This, however, is conditional on the software having a "technical effect" when the programme is run. Such effect may, for example, be found in the control of an industrial process or in the internal functioning of the computer itself.

(ii) Methods of medical and veterinary treatments:

Methods of treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy and diagnostic methods practised on the human or animal body are not patentable.
This exclusion does not apply to products, substances or compositions for use in any of these methods, i.e. medicines or surgical instruments.

(iii) Plant and animal varieties or essentially biological processes for their production.

Plant varieties may be protected by other means, such as through the Office of the Controller of Plant Breeders Rights*. However if the invention concerns plants and animals and if the technical feasibility of the invention is not confined to a particular plant or animal variety, the invention may be patentable.

(iv) Inventions the publication or exploitation of which would be contrary to public order or morality.

This exclusion is subject to the proviso that the exploitation of such inventions is not deemed to be so contrary merely because it is prohibited in law.

How to Apply

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How to apply for a patent

A patent application consists of:

A request for the grant of a patent (completing the application Form No.1 is
sufficient to comply with this requirement).
A specification containing a description of the invention, one or more claims defining the matter for which protection is sought and any drawings needed for the disclosure.
An abstract containing a summary of the matter contained in the specification.
The application must be accompanied by the appropriate application fee.

Patents Application Form No. 1 (PDF 0.01 MB)

Guide to Completing Patent Application Form (PDF 0.02 MB)

Who may apply for a patent?

Any person may make an application for a patent; the right to a patent belongs to the inventor or the inventors' successor in title. However, if an employee makes an invention in the course of his/her employment the right to the patent may belong to the employer. An application may be filed by joint applicants.

Where a patent agent is appointed by an applicant, all enquiries should be directed to that agent and all official communications from the Patents Office are with the appointed agent.

Divisional patent application

Applications disclosing more than one invention are said to lack "unity of invention" Where this happens, the applicant must remove all the subject matter that does not relate to the first invention. However, such subject matter may be "divided out" into new patent applications for each such invention. These "divisional applications" keep the filing date of the original application, but are otherwise examined as applications in their own right.

Scope of patent application

Once the application has been filed, the specification may not be amended in any way that extends the scope of the subject matter. While it is possible to to edit a specification - perhaps in the interests of better expressing something that is present from the start, or removing subject matter which the applicant no longer wishes to be part of the protected invention - anything that adds in a substantive way to the original filing will be refused.

Minimum requirements for a Filing Date

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It is possible to secure a filing date without a fully completed patent application, as long as each of the following is submitted:

A indication that a patent is sought
Information identifying the applicant
A description of the invention, and
The prescribed fee

An application made in this manner will have to be followed by a formally completed application and no additional subject matter should be added to the application beyond that contained in the original filing.

If a patent application does not comply with a requirement of the Act or the Rules the applicant is given an opportunity to meet that requirement within certain time limits e.g. a period of 12 months from the date of filing (or if priority has been claimed, from the date of priority) is prescribed for the filing of the claims and abstract.

The consequence of non-compliance with time limits is that the application may be refused or deemed withdrawn. Please note certain time limits are absolute.

The Description

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The description (PDF 0.04 MB) immediately follows the title. It is a detailed explanation of the invention. It should include all relevant information. It must be sufficiently clear and complete to be understood by others; such as to allow a person reasonably skilled in the same art to be able to fully replicate the invention without needing further details.

The description should set out the background of the invention and also explain any particular problem that the invention solves, and what it does.

Please note in particular that additional information cannot be added or the description broadened after you have filed the application.

A filing date cannot be secured in the absence of a description of the invention which is the subject of the request for grant of a patent.

The Claims

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The claims (PDF 0.05 MB), which follow the description, define the scope of the invention and the legal protection conferred by the patent when granted.

The claims must define the matter for which protection is sought in terms of its technical features. They must be clear and concise and be supported by the description.

There are two kinds of claim, independent and dependent. An independent claim defines an embodiment of an invention, comprising all its essential features. Dependent claims define further embodiments further characterised by desirable, but non-essential, features or components. These claims are dependent on the independent claim that gives the basic invention.

Claims must not speculate on the perceived advantages of the invention, but restrict themselves to embodiments and technical features. The advantages of the invention may be outlined in the description.

The specification may contain independent claims in different categories, e.g., for each of a product, the process for making that product, and specially adapted apparatus used in that process. However, all the independent claims must relate to the same basic inventive concept to ensure unity of invention.

If there are several claims, they should be numbered consecutively.

If the claims are not filed with the application they must be filed within 12 months of the filing date or if priority has been claimed within 12 months of the priority date.

The Drawings

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The Drawings (PDF 0.03 MB) are not obligatory. However, a good drawing (or set of drawings) is often of great value in clarifying the nature of an invention. Therefore, drawings may accompany the specification. Where they do they must be mentioned in the text of the description. They must be clear and legible with no extraneous text. Drawings should be filed at the same time as the rest of the specification. Late filing of drawings has implications for the filing date of the application. Please note chemical formulae are normally included within the description.

The Abstract

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In addition to the specification, an applicant must also supply an abstract (PDF 0.01 MB). This is a concise summary of the invention. The abstract should be typed on a separate sheet of A4 paper and must begin with the title of the invention that appears in the specification and the request for grant. It should include the essential features of the invention and should ideally be no longer than 150 words.

The abstract, like the claims, must be filed within 12 months of the application filing date (or priority date where claimed) if it has not been filed with the application. Abstracts are not part of the specification, and are not used to interpret the scope of protection sought. Rather, they provide a technical summary of the invention for archiving and retrieval purposes, thus assisting third parties in deciding whether the application as a whole might be of interest.

Claiming Priority

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Priority

If an application in respect of the same invention was filed up to 12 months earlier in either Ireland, the European Patent Office or a country that is a party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the filing date of the earlier application becomes the "priority date" of the new application.

This period of 12 months allows an applicant for a patent, having established a filing date for their invention in one jurisdiction, time to assess its commercial potential market, continue the development of the invention and to decide in which countries protection is to be sought without losing their priority right. If there has been more than one earlier filing (e.g. if an application has been made in the UK and Germany in respect of the same invention) this can give rise to more than one priority date in respect of a subsequent Irish application; however, time limits which are started to run from the date of priority run from the earliest of such priority dates.

The main effect of the priority right is that the filing date of the first application counts as the date from which the state of the art is assessed against the application and where 2 or more persons make an invention independently, the right to a patent belongs to the person whose filing date or claimed priority date is the earliest.

Claim to priority

Any priority claim must be made in the request for grant (Form No. 1) indicating the date of filing, the country and filing number of the previous application. A certified copy of the previous application must also be supplied within 16 months of the earliest priority date, if it was a foreign application. This certified copy should be obtained from the Office abroad where this earlier application was made.

Where the claim to priority is based on an earlier Irish application, the applicant may, instead of submitting a certified copy, request that such a copy be included with their application. In this case the Patents Office will arrange for a copy of the earlier application to be associated with the new application, on payment of the prescribed fee.

Statutory Patent Fees

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Patent Costs

Patenting costs can vary substantially. Factors such as the type of patent desired (e.g. a short-term patent or a full term patent) and whether protection in Ireland or abroad is sought, are relevant.

As of 1 January 2002, the official statutory fee for filing a patent application (20 year term) is €125.00 while the fee for filing a short term patent application is €60.00. Other standard statutory fees include

	20 Year Patent	Short-term Patent
Requesting a search before grant:	€361.00	Not Applicable
Fee for grant:	€64.00	€30.00

In addition to the statutory fees charged by national patent offices, applicants will need to bear in mind the costs of engaging the services of patent agents, which again can vary depending on the extent of the advice and assistance sought.

There can be other statutory fees payable depending on such factors as the need to amend applications or extensions of time requirements. In addition, annual patent renewal fees must be paid from the third year in order to keep a patent in force.

Publication of a Patent

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A patent application is published, i.e. certain documents relating to the application are open to public inspection, as soon as practicable after the expiry of a period of eighteen months from the filing date (or the priority date if there is one), unless it has been finally refused or withdrawn before the termination of the technical preparations for publication. It may however be published earlier upon request by the applicant.

The publication of an application is advertised in the Patents Office Journal. Copies of published applications are available to anyone who wishes to inspect or purchase them.

The Patents Office Journal

The Office publishes the Patents Office Journal on a fortnightly basis, generally it's published on a Wednesday. The Journal is in two parts.

Part 1 concerns patents and designs and includes information under a number of headings including:

Patent applications filed
Applications published
Patents granted
European Patents granted designating the State
Applications lapsed
Applications withdrawn, deemed withdrawn or refused.
Patents expired
Proceedings under the Patents Act, 1992
Matters concerning Supplementary Protection Certificates.

Part II of the Journal contains information relating to trade marks.

The Office provides an interactive, on-line version of the Journal, including search facilities. Journals may be viewed online via the website or consulted on request at our offices in Kilkenny and Dublin or purchased directly from the Office or from the Government Publications Sales Office.

Patent Agents

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Patent law and practice, and the drafting of the specification, describing an invention, are complex matters for which the help of a patent agent is very advisable unless the applicant has had specialised training in this field.

It must be remembered that the contents of the specification determine whether a patent can be granted as well as the scope and validity of the granted patent. The patent agent also arranges to file patent applications abroad and provides advice on matters relating to the commercial exploitation of an invention. The invention can be discussed freely with the patent agent because the disclosure will be in confidence.

Applicants having neither their residence nor principal place of business in the State must be represented by a patent agent. Even those who have their residence or business in the State are required to use the services of an agent in certain matters (see Rule 93 of the Patent Rules, 1992). Where the applicant is represented by a patent agent all enquiries should be directed to that agent and all official communications from the Patents Office are with the appointed agent.

NOTE : The Patents Office cannot advise applicants as to choice of agent.

Why Register?

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Registering your trade mark creates an official record of your rights as owner of a particular trade mark and makes it easier to prevent others from using it.

trade mark registration grants a statutory right, subject to certain conditions, to prevent others from using the trade mark without the registered proprietor's permission - i.e. to prevent infringement.

registration confers an exclusive right to authorise others by means of licensing to use the trade mark for the goods and /or services for which the trade mark is registered.

You should consider registering your trade mark if it is important to you that your customers are able to identify your products and services from those of your competition. Unauthorised use of a mark means the rightful owner may lose business and goodwill. Although registration is not obligatory, registration makes it easier to prevent others from benefiting from the reputation established by the use of a trade mark by allowing the proprietor of the registered trade mark to take infringement proceedings before the court.

The fraudulent application or use of a trade mark in relation to goods without the authorisation of the proprietor and/or the possession of goods or material bearing a mark identical to or nearly resembling a registered trade mark, may in certain circumstances, be a criminal offence, and criminal proceedings may be initiated under the Trade Marks Act, 1996.

Can any Trade Mark be Registered ?

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Not all trade marks are registrable. Essentially registration will be refused for a trade mark which:

is not capable of being represented graphically or not capable of distinguishing good or services of one business from those of other businesses,
does not have any distinctive character,
consists exclusively of signs or indications that designate essential characteristics of goods or services (e.g. their quality, intended purpose, geographical origin etc.),
consists exclusively of signs or indications which are customary in the language in the trade,
consists exclusively of the shape, arising from the goods themselves, or which is necessary to obtain a technical result, or gives substantial value to the goods,
is contrary to public policy or principles of morality,
is likely to deceive the public, e.g. as to the nature, quality, or geographical origin of the goods or services,
is applied for in bad faith,
is identical with or similar to a trade mark that is already on the Register in respect of identical or similar goods.

What is a Trade Mark ?

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A trade mark is the means by which a business identifies its goods or services and distinguishes them from the goods and services supplied by other businesses.

The Trade Marks Act, 1996 defines a trade mark as "any sign capable of being represented graphically which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings"

A trade mark may consist of words, (including personal names), designs, logos, letters, numerals or the shape of goods or of their packaging, or of other signs or indications that are capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of others.

Examples of familiar Irish trade marks are: Kerrygold, Glanbia, Tayto, Siucra.

Types of Trade Mark

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Ordinary or standard trade mark

The majority of all trade marks fall into this category. They consist of words, slogans, logos, etc. whose purpose is to distinguish the goods and services of their proprietors from those of other undertakings.

Collective mark

A Collective Trade Mark is a mark that distinguishes the goods or services of the members of an association from those of others.

Certification mark

A Certification Trade Mark is a mark that "certifies" goods or services as being of a certain standard or possessing certain qualities or other characteristics.
A certification mark can only be registered in the name of the proprietors if they themselves do not produce or provide the goods or services to which the mark is applied.

Series of trade marks

A series of trade marks is a number of marks, which resemble each other in their important features and differ only in respect of non-distinctive elements that do not substantially affect their identity.

Three-dimensional mark

A three-dimensional mark is a mark that consists of the shape of a product or its packaging.

How to Apply

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Any person or company etc who uses or proposes to use a Trade Mark can apply to register that mark.

An application may be made either before the mark is put in use or afterwards. Generally speaking an application should be made to register a mark as soon as possible to ensure priority over anyone else who applies to register the same or similar mark.

To apply, complete the application form (Form No. 1). This should then be lodged at the Patents Office. The fee for filing an application may be paid at this time or within one month of that date.

An applicant may pursue his or her application personally or choose to employ the services of a registered Trade Mark Agent. If an application meets the criteria for registration, it is registered with effect from the date of application.

Classifications of Figurative Marks

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The Vienna Classification is the internationally agreed system of categorising the figurative elements of marks. Unlike the Nice Classification, which relates to the goods and/or services to which a mark is applied in the course of trade, the Vienna Classification relates to the mark itself and is relevant only to those trade marks that are, or consist of, figurative images. The essential purpose of the Vienna Classification is to provide a system of comparing figurative trade marks for similarity and it is particularly useful in the context of automated searching using computer programmes.

Classification of Goods and Services

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The Nice Agreement concerning the International Classification of goods and services for the purposes of the registration of marks is an international agreement under the aegis of the World Intellectual Property Organisation. Its purpose, as the name suggests, is to provide an internationally recognised classification system of goods and services in respect of which trade marks may be registered. Ireland is a member of the Nice Union of countries and this Office applies the Nice classification system.

Under the Nice Classification goods and services are categorised in classes, each of which relate to a particular field or fields of commercial activity, for example, food and drink, pharmaceuticals, financial services, etc. The classification consists of 34 classes of goods (classes 1 - 34 inclusive) and 11 classes of services (35 - 45 inclusive).
When a Trade Mark is registered, it may be registered in respect of a particular product or service within a class or for several of the goods or services within a class or, indeed, for goods and services in several different classes. The registration of a mark in respect of specific products or services serves to define the extent of the protection afforded by that registration.

When an application is being searched to determine if there are any earlier marks, which may conflict with the mark that is the subject of the application, it is necessary to identify which other classes of goods or services may contain similar goods or services to those for which registration is being sought. The cross-search list sets out the other classes that an applicant should consider searching, in addition to the class(es) for which protection is being sought.

Classifications

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Anyone applying to register a trade mark whether at the national or international level, must seek to find out if their mark is new or is owned or claimed by someone else. To determine this, huge amounts of information must be searched. Two multilateral treaties administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Nice and Vienna) created classification systems which organize information concerning trademarks into indexed, manageable structures which can be easily searched and retrieved. The classification systems are regularly updated to take account of changes and advances in commercial practices.

The Application Process

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What are the procedures?

When an application (which contains the minimum information required) is received, a filing date and application number is assigned and a filing receipt is issued.

The Minimum requirements for a filing date are -

A request to register the Mark (completion of the prescribed application form meets this requirement),
The name and address of the person requesting the registration,
A representation of the mark,
A statement or list of the goods and/or services for which registration of the mark is sought.

The application is then examined as to its registrability. The examination process includes a search of relevant databases to ascertain whether the mark or a similar mark has previously been registered. If this is found to be the case, then the Office may refuse to register the mark.
The examination also addresses other obstacles to registration such as, for example, whether the mark is simply a laudatory statement of a product's quality (e.g. "Top Grade") or a sign that has become generic within a particular field of commercial activity. These are among a number of grounds on which an application for registration may be refused.
If it is proposed to refuse registration in a given case, the Applicant will be informed of the reasons why and will be afforded an opportunity to make arguments in support of the application. Before any decision to refuse becomes final, the Applicant will have a right to attend an oral hearing before a senior official of the Office.
If the application is accepted for registration, details of the mark will be published in the Official Journal. Within 3 months of the advertisement of a mark, any person who objects to its registration may send a notice of opposition to the Office accompanied by the prescribed fee and the Office will copy this to the Applicant. Each side (the Applicant and the Opponent) is then given an opportunity to file evidence in support of its case and the question of whether the mark should be registered is ultimately decided by a senior official of the Office.

Use of State Emblems

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Authorisation to Register a State Emblem as a Trade Mark; Dealing with Misuse of Trade Marks Indicative of Irish Origin

Part I - Background Information

Description:

Any person who wishes to obtain registration of a trade mark containing a State emblem (harp, shamrock) or to use a State emblem in connection with any business must first obtain consent from the Minister. The Minister is also empowered to take lawful steps against any person outside the State in the event of misuse of trade marks that would falsely indicate that the goods on which the trade mark is used were of Irish origin.

Legislation:

The relevant provisions in the Trade Marks Act, 1996 are sections 9, 97 and 98. Article 3(1)(g) of Council Directive 89/104/EEC and Article 7(1)(g) of the Council Regulation (EC) No. 40/94 also apply.

Eligibility:

Any person or company applying to the Controller of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, Patents Office, Government Buildings, Hebron Road, Kilkenny for a trade mark incorporating a State emblem - or to the relevant authorities of any country that is a contracting party to the Paris Convention - is eligible to seek the Minister's consent in this regard. The harp is confined to Government Departments and Government agencies.

Authorisation to use the shamrock is restricted to goods or services of Irish origin. Any person is eligible to make a complaint to the Minister where he or she suspects the unauthorised use of a State emblem or the misuse of a trade mark indicative of Irish origin.

Application:

Application for the consent of the Minister may be made in writing, by telephone or by e-mail to the Intellectual Property Unit of the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment, 23 Kildare Street, Dublin 2. There is no formal application form.

Part II - Processing the application

Where a person applies to the Minister for consent to register a trade mark incorporating a shamrock, or to use a shamrock in connection with a business, that person must show to the Minister's satisfaction that the goods on which the emblem is used are of Irish origin. Authorisation to use the harp is generally restricted to State agencies. The Department notifies the person concerned as soon as the application has been decided.

Part III - Procedure in place following decision

Unauthorised use of State Emblem:

A person who has been notified that he or she is not authorised to use a State emblem and continues to use it shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €1,269.74 (£1,000) and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding €126.97 (£100) for every day the offence continues. Appeals against these convictions lie with the courts.

Misuse of Trade Mark:

Where it comes to the Minister's attention that a trade mark in another country would falsely give the impression that the goods on which the trade mark is used were of Irish origin, the Department may take appropriate legal steps to prevent any further use of that trade mark. State emblem as trade mark.doc

What is a Design?

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"Design" means the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colour, shape, texture or materials of the product itself or its ornamentation

Examples of some registered designs are shown below:


Mobile telephone handset Registration No.20433 NOKIA CORPORATION	A bottle Registration No.20797 PEPSICO, INC

Golf Iron Head Registration No.20511 KARSTEN MANUFACTURING CORPORATION	Shoes, footwear soles Registration No.20565 TOD'S S.p.A.

A wristwatch Registration No.20448 MONTBLANC-SIMPLO GmbH	Character holding a shield Registration No.20109 Paul Martin

A registered design is a form of 'industrial property', which can be assigned, transferred, licensed or used by the owner. Design protection is territorial; in effect a design registered in Ireland is only valid in Ireland. Some aspects of the "design" may be protected by copyright.

What is Registrable?

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In order to be registrable a design must be new and have individual character:

A design is considered to be new if no identical design has been made available to the public before the date of filing of the application for registration or where priority is claimed, the date of priority.
The requirement to have "individual character" is met if the overall impression produced by a design on an informed user differs from the overall impression produced on such a user by any earlier design which has been made available to the public.

Traditionally, protectable designs relate to manufactured products such as the shape of a shoe, the design of an earring or the ornamentation on a teapot. In the digital world, however, protection is gradually extending in some Countries to a number of other products and types of design. These include electronic desktop icons generated by computer codes, typefaces, the graphic display on computer monitors and mobile telephones, etc.

What cannot be registered?

Designs that relate to how a product functions or for parts that in normal use are not visible, or designs that are contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality or which constitute an infringement of a copyright work may not be registered. See The Industrial Designs Act, 2001 for further details.

Why Register a Design?

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Registering a design creates a property right known as a design right and the registered proprietor is the owner of the design right.

Design registration grants a statutory right, subject to certain conditions, to prevent others from using the design without the registered proprietor's permission - i.e. to prevent infringement.

Registration confers an exclusive right to authorise others by means of licensing to use the design.

The design of a product can become synonymous with a company and like all intellectual property (such as trade marks and patents) can have monetary value. Registration may prevent others from infringing the design.

The fraudulent use of a registered design without the authorisation of the proprietor and/or possession of products bearing the registered design may in certain circumstances, be a criminal offence, and criminal proceedings may be initiated under the Industrial Designs Act, 2001.

It is an offence to falsely represent that a design applied to a product is a registered design. Therefore the use of the word registered or any word or words implying that a design applied to a product is a registered design may only be used on products bearing a registered design.

How long does protection last?

When a design is registered, protection is granted initially for 5 years. Protection can then be renewed for four further periods of five years each (on payment of the prescribed fee), giving a maximum of 25 years protection from the date of registration.

Priority

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When an applicant (from a country that is party to the Paris Convention or a member state of the World Trade Organisation) files an application for registration of a design in another member country, the applicant, for the purpose of registering the same design in Ireland, enjoys a right of priority for 6 months after the filing date of the first application. In order to claim a priority, the following information should be included in the appropriate section of the application form:

The Priority date claimed, the name of the state, country, territory or area and the filing number.

Where a right to priority is claimed, a certificate by the competent national authority verifying the filing date and country of filing, the representation of the design and its filing number should be filed with the application for registration or within 3 months of the filing thereof.

How to Apply

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In order to apply for a Design registration, the applicant must be the proprietor i.e. the owner of the Design. The proprietor can be the author of the Design or the employer of the person who created the design if this was done in the course of the employment (subject to any contract or agreement to the contrary).

An application to register the design should be made before the design is made available to the public. To apply, complete the appropriate application form. The completed application form should be accompanied by the prescribed

Design Classification

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International Classification for Industrial Designs

The Locarno Agreement concerning the International Classification of products for the purposes of the registration of designs is an international agreement under the aegis of the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

Its purpose as the name suggests, is to provide an internationally recognised classification system of products in respect of which designs may be registered. Ireland is a member of the Nice Union of countries and this Office applies the classification system to the registration of Designs.

Under the Locarno Classification, products are categorised in classes each of which relate to a particular field of related products, consequently it is possible to search designs databases using products as the search criteria. The classification system is regularly updated to take account of changes and advances in commercial practices.

The Application Process

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The filing date of an application for registration of a design shall be the date on which the applicant pays the prescribed filing fee and files at the Patents office documents which contain in the prescribed form-

a request for registration of a design or designs
a representation of the design or designs suitable for reproduction, and
the name and address of the applicant.

When an application containing the required minimum information is received, firstly a receipt is issued in respect of the prescribed fee and usually this will issue within 2 days of receipt of the fee.

Then a filing date and application number is assigned and a filing receipt is issued usually within 7 working days.

For a multiple application all of the designs in that multiple application are allocated application numbers, each one corresponding to one of the designs contained in the multiple application. Similarly, each of the designs is allocated a separate registration number upon registration.

The application is then checked by an examiner to determine that the formal requirements are complied with. If an examiner has a query or requests clarification, the applicant will be contacted and will be given time in which to respond.

When the application is accepted and in order for registration it is then registered and a certificate of registration is issued to the proprietor. The registration of the design is published in the Journal although this will not happen immediately upon registration if there has been a request for deferment of publication and the period of deferment is still running. The notice published in the Journal includes a representation of the design; if more than one representation of the design is filed, the representation published is usually the first in the series filed, unless the Applicant has requested otherwise.

Statutory Design Fees

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On application

The fee for an application to register a single design is €70.00.

In the case of an application to register multiple designs, the fee is €70.00 plus €25.00 per design.

Example: A multiple application consisting of 10 designs the amount due
is €70.00 plus €25.00 x 10. Total = €320.00

The application fee must be paid in order to receive a filing date.
On renewal

In order to keep a registered design in force it must be renewed on the fifth anniversary of the registration date and every five years after that, up to a maximum of 25 years.

The fee on application for the renewal of a design for a second period of five years is €200, for a third period of five years €225, for a fourth period of five years €250 and €300 for a fifth period of five years.

The foregoing are the basic fees for securing and renewing a design registration. There are various other fees for matters such as requests for deferment of publication, requests to amend an application and requests to record transactions such as assignments and licences etc.

Schedule of Fees

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NOTE:1
This schedule of fees relates to Designs applied for from 1 July 2002.

S.I. No. 280 of 2002

Industrial Designs Regulations, 2002

Schedule 1

Regulation 4 Fees payable under the Industrial Designs Act, 2001 (No. 39 of 2001).

Reference Number	Item	Amount €
(1)	(2)	(3)
1.	On application to register a design under section 20 of the Principal Act	70.00
2.	Additional fee in the case of a multiple application for registration - Regulation 19 per design	25.00
3.	On request to amend an application for registration under section 20 of the Principal Act	12.00
4.	On application to register a transaction under section 22 of the Principal Act - (i) for one design, (ii) for each other design included in the application or notice which is affected by the transaction	60.00 6.00
5.	On request for a certificate for use in connection with filing of application abroad - Regulation 18	25.00
6.	On request for division of an application - Regulation 20(1) For each divisional application	45.00
7.	On application to the Controller to state grounds of decision under Regulation 42	95.00
8.	On request for deferment of publication under section 32 of the Principal Act - For a period up to 12 months For a period from 12 to 24 months For a period from 24 to 30 months	50.00 150.00 250.00
9.	On application for rectification of the Register under section 34 of the Principal Act	15.00
10.	On request under section 38 of the Principal Act for a certified copy or extract of any entry in the Register. For each page of the document comprising the certified copy or extract	3.00 0.60
11.	On request for information about an application or a registered design under section 39 of the Principal Act. For each item of information requested	6.00
12.	On request for information as to existence of right in registered design under section 40 of the Principal Act	10.00
13.	On application to register a transaction under section 41 of the Principal Act - (i) for one design, (ii) for each other design included in the application or notice which is affected by the transaction	60.00 6.00
14.	On application for the renewal of the design right under section 43 of the Principal Act for a second period of 5 years for a third period of 5 years for a fourth period of 5 years for a fifth period of 5 years	200.00 225.00 250.00 300.00
15.	On application for a hearing under section 80 of the Principal Act	60.00
16.	For restoration of the design right under section 44 of the Principal Act	76.00
17.	On application for invalidation under section 47 of the Principal Act	125.00
18.	On application for compulsory licence under section 49 of the Principal Act	310.00
19.	On application for extension of time for completion of registration of design - Regulation 14	30.00
20.	On application for extension of time under Regulation 44(3) (General Power to Enlarge Time) For each month of extension	30.00
21.	For photocopying or reproduction of documents open to public inspection Per Page	0.30
22.	On request for certified copies, manuscripts, typed, printed or photographic For each page of the document comprising the certified copy	3.00 0.60
23.	On giving notice requesting that an application under the 1927 Act be determined in accordance with the Principal Act - Paragraph 4, First Schedule to the Principal Act	10.00
24.	On request for a search - Regulation 30(2)	35.00

NOTE:2
This schedule of fees relates to Designs pending for or granted prior to 1 July 2002

S.I. No. 482 of 2001

Patents, Trademarks and Designs (Fees) Rules, 2001

Schedule 4

Rule 3

Fees payable under the Industrial and Commercial Property (Protection) Act, 1927, (No. 16 of 1927) and the Industrial Property Rules, 1927 (S.R. & O. No. 78 of 1927)

Reference Number	Item	Amount €
(1)	(2)	(3)
1.	On application to register one design to be applied to a single article in a class.	60.00
2.	On application to register one design to be applied to a set of articles in a class	125.00
3.	On request for correction of a clerical error.	12.00
4.	On request to amend an application for registration.	25.00
5.	For extension of period of copyright for a second period of five years.	152.00
6.	For extension of period of copyright for a third period of five years.	228.00
7.	On application for cancellation of a registration	20.00
8.	On application for an extension of time for completion of the registration of a design, or for the payment of a fee for the extension of the period of copyright in a design, not exceeding the permitted extension, for each month.	15.00
9.	On notice of opposition to the entry in the register of designs kept at the Office pursuant to the Act of 1927 of a disclaimer or memorandum relating to a design.	25.00
10.	On application for entry in the register of designs kept at the Office pursuant to the Act of 1927 on the name of a subsequent proprietor of a registered design or of notice of licence of other document - (i) if made within six months of the acquisition of the interest: In respect of one entry For each additional similar entry (ii) if made subsequently: In respect of one entry For each additional similar entry	20.00 6.00 30.00 6.00
11.	On application by the proprietor of a registered design for cancellation of an entry or for the rectification of the register of designs kept at the Office pursuant to the Act of 1927 not otherwise charged or by a licensee or other person having a registered interest for removal of his name.	20.00
12.	On application by the proprietor of a registered design to alter a name or address or address for service or to enter a second address for service in the register of designs kept at the Office pursuant to the Act of 1927 when there has been no change of proprietorship - For one entry For each additional similar entry	5.00 2.00
13.	On application under section 129(6) by a person other than the registered proprietor of a design for the rectification of the register of designs kept at the Office pursuant to the Act of 1927.	15.00
14.	On lodgement of notice of Order of Court, Rule 174.	5.00
15.	On notice of intention to publish an unregistered design at an exhibition under section 76.	5.00
16.	On notice of intention to attend at a hearing by the Controller in any proceedings referred to in Rule 155, by each party.	10.00
17.	On application for leave to intervene in any proceedings before the Controller.	10.00
18.	On application to the Controller to state grounds of decision under Rule 87.	91.00
19.	For certificate of the Controller under Rule 148.	15.00
20.	For certified extract from the register of designs kept at the Office pursuant to the Act of 1927.	15.00
21.	For typed office copies of a document, for each 100 words or less.	3.00
22.	For photocopying documents, for each page.	0.30
23.	For certifying office copies MSS, typed, printed or photographic, each.	3.00
24.	On application under section 74 when registered number of design is furnished.	7.00
25.	On application under section 74 when registered number on design is not furnished.	15.00
26.	For inspection of the register of designs kept at the Office pursuant to the Act of 1927 or other document open to inspection (except inspection under the second paragraph of Section 73(1)) for each quarter of an hour.	1.50
27.	On application under Rule 86 or 151 for hearing.	41.00

Publication of Registration

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When a design is registered, or in cases where deferred publication has expired the Controller in addition to making the register available for public inspection publishes the following particulars in the Patents Office Journal, which is published fortnightly.

The registration number of the design;
The name and address of the registered proprietor;
The address for service;
The date of registration;
A representation of the design;
A brief description of the design;
Where applicable, the priority date and the name of the state, country, territory or area in respect of which priority is claimed and the filing number;
The class or classes, including sub-classes; and a statement of the product or products to or in which the design is to be applied or incorporated.

The Patent Office Journal is available free online or copies may be purchased from the Patents Office.

Deferment of publication

Publication of a design may be deferred at the request of the applicant on payment of the relevant prescribed deferment fees for a period of up to 30 months from the filing date, or where priority is claimed, for a period of up to 30 months from the date of priority.

In such cases the Controller will not make the registration available to the public or publish the design until the period of deferment has expired, or at any earlier date on request by the registered proprietor.

Protection Abroad

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Registered Community Design

The Office for Harmonisation of the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM) began accepting applications for Registered Community Designs on 1 January 2003. These were deemed to have a filing date of 1 April 2003, when the Community Design came into effect. A registered community design gives the proprietor a single registration, which is valid in all 25 countries of the European Union.

An applicant for a Registered Community Design (RCD) may apply directly to OHIM or may forward the application via the Irish Patents Office together with a handling fee of €25. If an application for a RCD is made via the Irish Patents Office, the Office will acknowledge receipt of the application and immediately forward it to OHIM. Its filing date will be the date of receipt at this Office. With the exception of the handling fee, all other fees including the filing fee must be paid directly to the OHIM.

All details relating to the Community Design Registration System, including application forms and notes regarding completion of same, fees and methods of payment may be obtained from the OHIM website.

Registered Community Designs are protected for a period of five years. They can be then renewed four times giving a maximum life of 25 years of protection.

Unregistered Designs

With the adoption, on 12 December 2001 of the Community designs Regulation, the protection of unregistered Community designs is available for new designs created after 6 March 2002.
The regulation introduced a protection called "Unregistered Community Design" which is a right that automatically comes into existence by the mere fact of making the products incorporating the designs available to the public (i.e. if the design has been published, exhibited, used in trade or otherwise disclosed in such a way that these events could reasonably have become known to the circles specialised in the sector concerned) within the Community.

The right is limited to three years and forbids the use of copies of original designs. The unregistered design right constitutes a vital element of protection for industries such as clothing and footwear. For example the fashion industry, which renews their collections every season, can therefore be protected against counterfeiting and other infringing copies without the formality or costs involved for their designs in the entirety of the European Union.

Design Application Forms

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Listed below are files in Word and Adobe Acrobat (pdf) file format or
links to where the appropriate forms are avavailable.

Details	Word Version	PDF Version
Application to Register a Single Design	Single Design Form (Word 0.03)	Single Design Form (PDF 0.03)
Application to Register a Multiple Design	Multiple Design Form (Word 0.04)	Multiple Design Form (PDF 0.04)
Application to Register a Security Interest	Security Interest Form (Word 0.02)	Security Interest Form (PDF 0.02)
Application to Register an Assignment	Assignment Form (Word 0.01)	Assignment Form (PDF 0.01)

What is copyright?

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Copyright is the legal term, which describes the rights given to authors/creators of certain categories of work. Copyright protection extends to the following works:

original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works,
sound recordings, films,
broadcasts, cable programmes,
the typographical arrangement of published editions,
computer programmes,
original databases.

The owner of copyright is the author, meaning the person who creates the work. For example a photographer is the owner in the case of a photograph. However, as copyright is a form of property, the right may be transferred to someone else, for example, to a publisher. Where an employee in the course of employment creates the work, the employer is the owner of the copyright in the work, unless an agreement to the contrary exists.

Copyright is a property right and the owner of the work can control the use of the work, subject to certain exceptions. The owner has the exclusive right to prohibit or authorise others to undertake the following:

copy the work
perform the work
make the work available to the public through broadcasting or recordings
make an adaptation of the work.

Copyright takes effect as soon as the work is put on paper, film, or other fixed medium such as CD-ROM, DVD, Internet, etc. No protection is provided for ideas while the ideas are in a persons mind; copyright law protects the form of expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves.

Rights related to Copyright

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Rights are not restricted just to the creators of the works themselves but certain other rights may apply. For example, the record company has certain rights in a sound recording of the performance of a song, in addition the author(s) of the lyrics and the music will also have certain copyrights. Similarly performing artists have certain rights in their performances. The legislation also provides for moral rights, such as the right to be acknowledged as the author of a particular work and also the right to object to derogatory treatment of that work.

The primary legislation governing copyright in Ireland is the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 (No. 28 of 2000)

For more information please see the Information Note (PDF 0.04MB) on the Copyright and Related Rights Act.

Copyright Protection

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In Ireland, there is no registration procedure for owners of a copyright work.

Basically the act of creating a work also creates the copyright, which then subsists in the physical expression of the work. Copyrights are protected by law and illegal use of these rights can be contested in the Courts, the technical term for this misuse is infringement. The legislation provides for criminal offences and consequently infringers could face both civil liability and criminal convictions. Professional advice should be sought by copyright owners with regard to the options and the remedies available where infringement of their work occurs.

It is most important that the originator of a work can show subsequently when the work and the consequential copyright were created as it may be necessary to commence or defend infringement proceedings, at some later stage. One way of doing this is to deposit a copy of the work with an acknowledged representative who may be a bank or solicitor in such a way as to allow the date and time of the deposit to be recorded or notarised. Alternatively, one may send a copy of the work to oneself by registered post (ensuring a clear date stamp on the envelope), retaining the original receipt of posting and leaving the envelope containing the copyright work unopened thus establishing that the work existed at that date and time.

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It is important to show that copyright is claimed in a work. Works should be clearly marked to show who the copyright owner is and the date from which copyright is claimed. The internationally recognised symbol © is normally used to indicate that a work is protected by copyright.

Example:

Examples of more detailed copyright notices may be found in published versions of literary works. The inclusion of a copyright notice does not legally constitute proof of ownership, but does indicate a claim to copyright, which may prove useful if it is necessary to defend that claim or to deter possible infringement.

It is usually necessary to obtain permission to use copyright material. Persons with a copy of a work can look for an indication on the work regarding copyright. This can assist making contact with the author/ original creator of the work in order to obtain their permission to use the work for any act, which is prohibited by copyright legislation.

Duration of Copyright Protection

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The duration of copyright protection varies according to the format of the work. In respect of the following works the term of protection is:

Category of Work	Duration of Protection
Literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works	Copyright protection expires 70 years after the death of the author/creator
Films	Copyright protection expires 70 years after the last of the following dies, the director, the author of the screenplay, the author of the dialogue of the film, or the author of the music composed for use in the film.
Sound recordings	Copyright protection expires 50 years after the sound recording is made or if it is made available to the public then 50 years from the date it was made available to the public.
Broadcasts	Copyright protection expires 50 years after the broadcast is first transmitted
The typographical arrangement of a published edition	Copyright protection expires 50 years after the date it is first made available to the public
Computer-generated works	Copyright protection expires 70 years after the date it is first made available to the public

Chapter 3 of the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 (No. 28 of 2000) deals in greater detail with the duration of copyright in Ireland.

Irish Copyright Legislation

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The Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 came into effect on and from
1 January 2001. The general objectives of the Act are as follows:

to put in place a modern, effective, efficient, technology-neutral regime of statutory protection for copyright and related rights, including provision for civil remedies and criminal penalties fully sufficient to deter copyright theft, bearing in mind the economic and cultural significance of such theft in the context of the Information Society;
to transpose into Irish law a number of EU directives in the field of copyright and related rights;
to bring Irish law into conformity with all obligations incurred under international law on copyright and related rights, in particular, under the Berne Convention (Paris Act), the Rome Convention, the TRIPs Agreement, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Copyright Treaty, and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, and
to provide, for the first time in Irish law, for tailor-made regimes of civil protection for performers' rights, rights in performances and non-original databases in line with the best EU and international standards.

Register of Copyright Licensing Bodies

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The Controller has certain statutory functions under the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 (No. 28 of 2000). These functions are concerned with the registration of copyright licensing bodies, references and applications relating to licensing schemes operated by licensing bodies and the resolution of disputes regarding the payment of royalty amounts arising in the area of public performance of sound recordings.
Any body operating as a licensing body within the meaning specified in Section 38 or 149 of the Act is obliged to register as a licensing body in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 17 of the Act, and to remain registered for so long as it continues to operate in this capacity.
In accordance with Section 175 of the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 and the Copyright and Related Rights (Register of Copyright Licensing Bodies) Regulations, 2002 (S.I. No. 463 of 2002) the Controller maintains a Register of Copyright Licensing Bodies. The Controller has, to date, registered the following bodies in the Register of Copyright Licensing Bodies.

Name of Body	Address
Irish Visual Artists' Rights Organisation	Corner Halston Street Mary's Lane Dublin 7.
Association for the International Collective Management of Audiovisual Works	26 rue de St-Jean CH- 1203 Geneva Switzerland
Phonographic Performance (Ireland) Limited	PPI House, 1 Corrig Avenue, Dunlaoghaire, Co. Dublin.
The Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society Ltd	Marlborough Court 14-18 Holborn London EC1N 2LE
The Irish Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd	19 Parnell Square, Dublin, 1.
Irish Music Rights Organisation	Copyright House, Pembroke Row, Lower Baggot Street, Dublin, 2.
Mechanical - Copyright Protection Society (Ireland) Limited	Copyright House, Pembroke Row, Baggot Street, Dublin, 2.
Newspaper Licensing Ireland Limited	Clyde Lodge 15 Clyde Road Ballsbridge Dublin 4
Ingenta UK Limited (Certificate of registration expired on 31 August 2005)	23-38 Hythe Bridge Street Oxford OX1 2ET United Kingdom

The Register of Copyright Licensing Bodies is a paper register and it is retained at the Patents Office in Kilkenny and may be inspected during opening hours of 9.45 a.m. - 4.15 p.m. Monday - Friday at a fee of €5.00.

The Controller on receipt of a request and the prescribed fee of €0.30 per page will issue an uncertified reprographic copy of any entry in the Register. On receipt of a request and on payment of a fee of €10 in addition of the €0.30 per page to be copied, the Controller will supply a reprographic copy of any entry in the Register, or any part of such an entry, certified by him to be a true copy of the original.

Disputes regarding the payment of royalties in the area of public performance of sound recordings

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Under the legislation persons playing sound recordings in public or including a sound recording in a broadcast or cable programme service must agree to make payments in respect of such playing or inclusion in a broadcast to each licensing body concerned and comply with the requirements of the legislation.

Where the person intending to play sound recording in public or to include sound recordings in a broadcast or cable programme service and the licensing body fail to reach agreement as to the payment due, the terms of the proposed agreement may be referred to the Controller for the determination of the amount and terms of payment. It should be noted that in cases where an application has been made to the Controller to determine a dispute, that the party playing sound recordings must pay to the licensing body such amount as he or she considers reasonable and must notify the licensing body and the Controller of his or her intention to do so.

No statutory rules have yet been made setting out the procedures to be followed relating to such disputes. In the interim, the application to the Controller for a determination, should contain a statement of case setting out the precise nature of the dispute and any other relevant information.

References and applications relating to licensing schemes

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Copyright licensing societies -also known as collective management organisations - acting on behalf of their members have as their main objective the negotiating or granting of copyright licences which authorise the terms of use of a work of more than one copyright owner. In broad terms, the principle role of the Controller as laid down in the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 (No. 28 of 2000) is to decide, where the parties cannot agree between themselves, the terms and conditions of licences offered by, or licensing schemes operated by, collective licensing bodies in the copyright and related rights area. In addition, the terms of a licensing scheme proposed to be operated by a licensing body may be referred to the Controller for determination, by an organisation which claims to be representative of persons who claim that they require licences. Furthermore, anyone who considers that they have unreasonably been refused a licence by a collecting society or considers the terms of an offered licence to be unreasonable may refer the matter to the Controller.

The Controller's statutory responsibilities in relation to references and applications relating to copyright licensing schemes are set out in Chapter 16 of the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 and in particular in Sections 149 to 166.

Online Patent Guide

What is a patent?

How long does a patent last?

Patent pending

Types of Patents

(1) Full-term patents

(2) Short-term patents

Search Report/Evidence of Novelty

Search Report

Evidence of Novelty

Supplementary Protection Certificate

What is Patentable?

Why Patent Inventions?

Excluded Subject Matter

Excluded Subject Matter and exceptions to patentability

(i) Discoveries and aesthetic creations:

Software

(ii) Methods of medical and veterinary treatments:

(iii) Plant and animal varieties or essentially biological processes for their production.

(iv) Inventions the publication or exploitation of which would be contrary to public order or morality.

How to Apply

How to apply for a patent

Who may apply for a patent?

Divisional patent application

Scope of patent application

Minimum requirements for a Filing Date

The Description

The Claims

The Drawings

The Abstract

Claiming Priority

Priority

Claim to priority

Statutory Patent Fees

Patent Costs

Publication of a Patent

The Patents Office Journal

Part 1 concerns patents and designs and includes information under a number of headings including:

Part II of the Journal contains information relating to trade marks.

Patent Agents

Why Register?

Can any Trade Mark be Registered ?

What is a Trade Mark ?

Types of Trade Mark

Ordinary or standard trade mark

Collective mark

Certification mark

Series of trade marks

Three-dimensional mark

How to Apply

Classifications of Figurative Marks

Classification of Goods and Services

Classifications

The Application Process

What are the procedures?

Use of State Emblems

Authorisation to Register a State Emblem as a Trade Mark; Dealing with Misuse of Trade Marks Indicative of Irish Origin

What is a Design?

What is Registrable?

What cannot be registered?

Why Register a Design?

How long does protection last?

Priority

How to Apply

Design Classification

International Classification for Industrial Designs

The Application Process

Statutory Design Fees

Schedule of Fees

NOTE:1This schedule of fees relates to Designs applied for from 1 July 2002.

NOTE:2This schedule of fees relates to Designs pending for or granted prior to 1 July 2002

Publication of Registration

Deferment of publication

Protection Abroad

Registered Community Design

Unregistered Designs

Design Application Forms

What is copyright?

Copyright is the legal term, which describes the rights given to authors/creators of certain categories of work. Copyright protection extends to the following works:

Rights related to Copyright

NOTE:1
This schedule of fees relates to Designs applied for from 1 July 2002.

NOTE:2
This schedule of fees relates to Designs pending for or granted prior to 1 July 2002