References and applications relating to licensing schemes

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.