How to Copyright in Ireland

Do something creative? You've got a copyright.

Irish copyright law protects intellectual creative properties like literary and dramatic works, film and sound recordings, communications broadcasts and computer software. The copyright is automatic once the work is created and extends for the creator's lifetime and an additional 70 years. It does not require any sort of registration, but you can protect your work in case of duplication or infringement by proving that you wrote, recorded or performed it first.

Instructions

1. Put a copy of your work in an envelope and seal it.

2. Address the envelope either to yourself, or a copyright protection company, such as the Copyright Protection Agency or the Copyright Bank.

3. Keep the receipt for your envelope. If you've sent the creative work to yourself, keep it sealed in the envelope once you receive it.

4. Await a certificate of copyright protection in the mail if you have sent it to an outside copyright organization.

5. Mark all future copies of the work with the copyright symbol, pictured above, along with the name of the creator and the date of creation.

References

• Copyright Association of Ireland: Protection is Automatic
• Poetry Ireland: Copyright
• Copyright Protection Agency Ltd.