Legislative Background and Functions

The statutory functions of the Controller are set out in the Patents Act, 1992, the Trade Marks Act, 1996; the Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1998, the Industrial Designs Act 2001, the Statutory Rules made under these Acts and the European Communities (Supplementary Protection Certificate) Regulations, 1993. Decisions under these Acts, Rules and Regulations rest with the Controller in his statutory capacity, subject to certain rights of appeal to the High Court.

These statutory functions are concerned with the granting of Patents and the registration of Trade Marks and Designs and the administration and maintenance of these industrial property rights (read more about this in About Intellectual Property).

The Controller also has certain statutory functions under the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000.  In the main, these functions are concerned with dealing with registration of copyright licensing bodies, references and applications relating to licensing schemes operated by those bodies and the resolution of disputes regarding royalty amounts arising mainly in the area of public performance of sound recordings.