Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has confirmed that copyright in the national anthem of Ireland will expire at the end of 2012. This department currently holds the copyright in the anthem.
On the expiry of the copyright term, the copyright in the work will become freely available for use. Copyright in a specific work cannot be renewed which means that when the copyright in the National Anthem expires in 2012, it may be used for commercial purposes without the need to obtain a licence from the Government.
A possible solution, if the Government wishes to protect the National Anthem from being used without licence, may be to enact similar legislation that exists for the protection of the State Emblem, the Harp. The Government may seek to enact similar legislation to place the Anthem on a similar footing to that of the State Emblem.
Australia encountered a similar problem in 2002 where the words of its anthem were altered by 'Meat and Livestock Australia' in an advertisement. The inappropriate use of the anthem provoked a strong negative reaction and the Government may want to avoid a similar situation from arising here when the copyright of the Anthem expires next year.
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