A DECISION which will allegedly halve the royalties to be paid from playing music in retail stores from January next has been challenged in Commercial Court proceedings.
Phonographic Performance (Ireland) Ltd (PPI) claims the decision by the Controller of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, following a complaint by a New Ross town shopkeeper, will lead to the total amount of royalties from music played in retail stores across the country being reduced from more than €2 million in 2009 to about €1 million annually.
Depending on the size of the retail floor space, new tariff rates ordered by the controller to come into effect from January next will cut royalty payments by between 17 and 78 per cent, it is claimed.
The PPI claims the controller acted outside his powers in making those orders when dealing with a dispute involving just one particular retailer. The PPI had claimed that retailer should pay about €100 royalties for 2009 but he paid about €50.
The proceedings against the controller were admitted to the Commercial Court this week by Mr Justice Peter Kelly.
The case arises from the controller’s decision on June 13th following a complaint by T H Furlong, trading as K O’Connor, at John Street, New Ross, Co Wexford.
The retailer operates a convenience shop and had disputed a PPI claim for royalties dating from 2005 to 2009. It claimed the PPI was wrong to invoice it for the years before 2009, alleging it had not played music in the shop at that time. It also challenged an invoice seeking payment of €100.64 royalties for 2009 and paid €50.54 for that year.
The PPI said an invoice sent in 2009 to the shop sought an amount assessed in accordance with tariff number seven relating to the public performance of sound recordings and broadcasts as background music at retail premises, with an effective date from January 1st, 2009.
It also claimed invoices sent for the years before 2009 reflected that tariff as effective at those times. It argued that €50.54 did not represent fair payment.
The controller later sought certain information and documents from the PPI, including details of the number of licensees and income received by the PPI under the various points of scale in tariff seven.
On June 13th, the controller made a number of orders. He found the retailer had no liability to the PPI for 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and up to March 30th, 2009.
The controller ordered the PPI to adjust the structure of its tariff number seven applicable to retail premises, including banks, in a manner set out by the controller. The new adjusted scale would come into effect from January 1st, 2012, it was ordered.
In making those orders, the PPI claims the controller acted outside its powers under the provisions of the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000. The controller was entitled only to determine the complaint of the retailer and not to determine issues between the PPI and all other users of recordings falling under the scope of tariff seven, it argued.
