ABSTRACT
It is clear that these important developments, which took place between 1963 and the adoption of the 2000 Act, related to very specific issues. It is also true to say that, in relation to three of these four issues, Ireland was coming under pressure either from the European Union or from the US to introduce legislation to comply with various treaty obligations. Notwithstanding these amendments, however, copyright legislation in Ireland as it existed prior to the adoption of the 2000 Act required a major overhaul. One reason for the overhaul was to ensure that Ireland changed its copyright law to reflect other obligations arising from international treaties and European harmonisation measures as outlined in more detail below. Another reason was the general requirement to modernise Irish copyright law to facilitate its application to modern technologies.
