Copyright Act, 1963

General exceptions from protection of literary, dramatic or musical works.

12.—(1) No fair dealing with a literary, dramatic or musical work for purposes of—

(a) research or private study, or

(b) criticism or review, whether of that work or another work, which is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgment,

shall constitute an infringement of the copyright in the work.

(2) No fair dealing with a literary, dramatic or musical work shall constitute an infringement of the copyright in the work if it is for the purpose of reporting current events—

(a) in a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, which is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgment, or

(b) by means of broadcasting, or in a cinematograph film.

(3) The copyright in a literary, dramatic or musical work is not infringed by reproducing it for the purposes of a judicial proceeding or of a report of any such proceeding.

(4) The reading or recitation in public or in a broadcast by one person of any reasonable extract from a published literary or dramatic work, if accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgment, shall not constitute an infringement of copyright in the work.

(5) The copyright in a published literary or dramatic work is not infringed by the inclusion of a short passage from it in a collection intended for use in schools, if—

(a) the collection is described in its title, and in any advertisements thereof by or on behalf of the publisher, as being so intended,

(b) the work in question was not published for use in schools,

(c) the collection consists mainly of material in which no copyright subsists,

(d) the inclusion of the passage is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgment, and

(e) not more than one other excerpt from works by the author of the passage, being works in which copyright subsists when the collection is published, is contained in that collection or in that collection taken together with every similar collection (if any) published by the same publisher within the period of five years immediately preceding the publication of that collection.

(6) Where, at a time more than fifty years from the end of the year in which the author of a literary, dramatic or musical work died, and more than one hundred years after the time, or the end of the period, at or during which the work was made—

(a) copyright subsists in the work, but

(b) the work has not been published, and

(c) the manuscript or a copy of the work is kept in a library, or museum or other institution where (subject to any provisions regulating the institution in question) it is open to inspection,

the copyright in the work is not infringed by a person who publishes the work in accordance with regulations in that behalf made by the Minister.

(7) Where, by virtue of an assignment or licence or otherwise, Radio Éireann is authorised to broadcast a literary, dramatic or musical work but (apart from this subsection) would not be entitled to make a reproduction of it in the form of a record or cinematograph film, the copyright in the work is not infringed if Radio Éireann by means of its own facilities makes such reproduction for the purpose of the authorised broadcast.

(8) The general exception mentioned in the immediately preceding subsection of this section shall not apply if, without the consent of the owner of the relevant rights in the work—

(a) the reproduction or any copy thereof is used for any purpose except that of making the broadcast in accordance with the authorisation, if any, or

(b) the reproduction or any copy thereof is not destroyed before the end of the period of six months next following the making of the reproduction, or such longer period as may be agreed between Radio Éireann and the person who, in relation to the making of reproductions of the description in question, is the owner of the copyright subsisting in the work.

(9) Any reproduction of a work made under subsection (7) of this section which is of an exceptional documentary character may be preserved in the archives of Radio Éireann, which are hereby designated official archives for the purpose, but, subject to the provisions of this Act, shall not be used for broadcasting or for any other purpose without the consent of the owner of the relevant rights in the work.

(10) The preceding provisions of this section shall apply to the doing of any act in relation to the adaptation of a work as they apply to the doing of that act in relation to the work itself.

(11) The provisions of this section shall apply where a work, or an adaptation of a work, is caused to be transmitted to subscribers to a diffusion service as they apply where a work or adaptation is broadcast.

(12) In this Act “sufficient acknowledgment” means an acknowledgment identifying the work in question by its title or other description and, unless the work is anonymous or the author has previously agreed or required that no acknowledgment of his name should be made, also identifying the author.