The rights
of the record companies and performers are protected through
Copyright Law. Record companies and performers are paid by way
of royalties, so the amount that they are paid depends on the
success or otherwise of their records. In order to achieve success
with a record it is important that it reach a worldwide and
not just a domestic market. As record companies and performers
are dependant upon royalties to survive, it is important that
Copyright law is harmonised and enforced on a worldwide basis.
It is for this reason that IRMA is a member of IFPI, International
Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represents
the recording Industry worldwide.
The Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 governs copyright
in Ireland. It was enacted, not only to update Irish law but
also to bring into force in Ireland numerous EU Directives.
These Directives are in force in all countries of the EU thus
making it easier to enforce copyrights throughout the EU.
Ireland is also a member of two International Conventions,
which serve to harmonise International law and ensure that
copyright can be enforced throughout most of the developed
world. These are the International Convention for the Protection
of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations
made in Rome in 1961 and The World Intellectual Property Organisation
Performances and Phonograms Treaty adopted in Geneva in 1996.
IFPI lobbies at international and EU level to ensure that
international conventions and EU Directives take into account
the interests of the Recording Industry thus ensuring that
royalties can be collected for both record companies and performers,
allowing the business of making music to grow and develop.
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