A COPYRIGHT tribunal should be set up to settle disputes between royalty collecting bodies and copyright users, according to the Law Reform Commission.
It wants to expand the jurisdiction of the existing Performing Rights Tribunal to cover all types of copyright.
The proposal is part of a report to be released by the commission after a six-year study of copyright.
Collecting societies issue licences to prospective users, enforce the rights of their members by legal action and distribute the royalties to the copyright owners after deducting administration fees.
The commission will recommend the new tribunal be empowered to award interim payment in favour of the licensing bodies and to restrict the licensing bodies' liberty to apply for an injunction against licensees pending final arbitration.