Writers whose books are borrowed from public libraries are to qualify for payment under a scheme announced yesterday.
The introduction of a public lending right payments system for authors follows years of legal wrangling between the Government and the EU Commission.
Legal proceedings to force the Government to introduce the scheme have been issued by the commission at the European Court of Justice. While the matter is now likely to be resolved, it will be next year before the new system is implemented.
Its introduction was announced by Minister of State for Trade and Commerce Michael Ahern as part of measures required by the EU in the intellectual property field.
A resale right payments system is also to be introduced for artists whose original works are resold through the art trade.
The final element of the package will see an EU directive on intellectual property rights transposed into Irish law. This is likely to include new sanctions against those involved in counterfeiting and piracy.
Writers have been campaigning for some years for the introduction of a public lending right payments (PLR) scheme.
Ireland is one of the few older EU states that does not have such a scheme in place.
In Britain, authors whose books are borrowed from public libraries receive royalties up to an annual maximum of £6,000.
The payments are based on a sampling of loan data collected from nearly 1,000 libraries in Britain and Northern Ireland. Irish writers such as Maeve Binchy and Frank McCourt have been among the beneficiaries.
However, in the Republic authors do not receive any royalties, regardless of how often their books are borrowed. EU states are required to have a PLR payments system in place under the EU Rental and Lending Directive of 1992. While the Government did introduce a public lending right under new copyright laws in 2000, it exempted public libraries.
It argued that authors would receive only a modest benefit, and that the scheme would contravene its policy of encouraging greater use of public libraries.
The commission, however, said Ireland was not entitled to exempt public libraries, and instituted legal proceedings. It has taken similar action against other EU states that failed to fully implement the directive.
While details of the new scheme have yet to be announced, it is likely that payments will be made by the Exchequer and will not involve charges for borrowers.
All three elements of the package announced yesterday are to be provided for under the new Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill.
Mr Ahern said the Government had recently approved the initiation of drafting work on the Bill, and he expected to be able to bring it to the Oireachtas before the end of the year.
