Government to pay authors for library lending

The Government has finally bowed to pressure from the European Commission to pay authors for books borrowed in public libraries, it emerged today.

It means that authors will now be paid royalties every time their books are borrowed from libraries, rather than just for one single copy.

The European Commission (EC) had threatened the Government with legal action as far back as 2003 for failing to implement its rental and lending directive properly and finally took Ireland to the European Court of Justice.

The Minister of State for Trade and Commerce Michael Ahern said he would now bring forward a new public lending right payments system to address the Commission’s concerns.

“There had been a continuing difference in interpretation of the Rental and Lending Directive between Ireland and the Commission, which remains the subject of proceedings against Ireland in the European Court of Justice, but I am confident that this Bill will resolve these differences,” he said.

The cost of paying the new royalties could be several million euro.

When the Government introduced the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000, it attempted to exempt all public libraries from the royalties, rather than the school and college libraries envisaged by the directive.

Under the new system, libraries attached to schools will still be exempt.

An Artists’ Resale Right payments system is also being introduced for artists whose original works are resold through the art trade.