From the Editor – IP & Entertainment Law – August 2021

Eileen O'Gorman
Gleeson McGrath Baldwin, Dublin
eogorman@gmgb.ie

Dear Committee members

You are very welcome to this year’s first IBA Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Committee publication.

As practitioners in this area, we are all aware of the importance of intellectual property rights in our daily lives. However, Covid-19 and the global lockdown have brought a number of IP-related issues into the public arena – from the availability of vaccines (and potential for patent waivers or compulsory licensing), to the catastrophic effect on industries that rely on IP for a living, in particular the entertainment industry. We are therefore taking this opportunity to highlight some of the key issues where IP law traverses our daily lives and those sectors of the community that have been either hard hit or presented as saviours in the global pandemic.

The first section of articles considers the moral, ethical and legal questions relating to the Covid-19 vaccines, health as a human right and international perspectives on patent waivers and compulsory licensing. We also discuss the impact of Covd-19 on the music industry and new forms of exploitation, rights and potential licensing as live events transition to digital. We have an informative piece on a recent judgment from the Court of Justice of the European Union on performers’ right to equitable remuneration. And, finally, as respite from Covid-19, we include an article on the world of gaming and the use of alternative dispute resolution in IP disputes. This is particularly pertinent considering the fantastic webinar on the same topic, held on 22 June. Hopefully more articles will follow in this area.

Our committee is one of the IBA’s most dynamic and hardworking. We hope you enjoy this edition of our publication and if you are not already a committee member, consider joining. We welcome articles for publication later in the year, either on new topics or as a follow up to those you read here.

Eileen O’Gorman
Publications Officer
​​​​​​​IBA Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Committee