17 April 2026

The Court of Appeal did not disturb a 2024 High Court decision confirming that the Gwen Malone Stenography Services Unlimited Company  [GMSS] transcripts are original literary works covered by copyright. As GMSS own the copyright in their Transcripts their  consent to the release of any Transcripts is required.

The GMSS Transcript was provided to ESB on condition that it is used for its own internal purposes and it is expressly precluded from photocopying, reproducing in any manner, supplying or loaning to any party without the written permission of the Stenographer.

This restriction is printed on the second page of each volume of the Transcript.

“In order to understand the appeal regarding the Commissioner’s change of position, it is necessary to look at the correspondence sent by the investigator to ESB. It will be recalled that in the first decision the Commissioner held that the transcript was an original literary work covered by copyright and that disclosure of it would adversely affect the intellectual property rights of GMSS. In the second decision the Commissioner held that the same transcript was not covered by copyright and so it was unnecessary to consider whether GMSS’s intellectual property rights would be adversely affected. These are two conflicting decisions on the application of the same legislation to the same material. The second decision does not expressly acknowledge that the Commissioner is reversing his earlier decision and consequently does not expressly explain why he is doing so. The Commissioner argues that the explanation is to be found in the correspondence exchanged during the appeal process. “

Trademark Registration

Very competitive professional fees to register a trademark* with the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland (IPOI).

There will also be outlays payable to the “Controller of Intellectual Property” ( www.ipoi.gov.ie) 

When a trademark application (which contains the minimum information required) is received by the Office, a filing date and application number is assigned and a filing receipt is issued.

The Minimum requirements for a filing date are: –

1. A request to register the Mark (completion of the prescribed application form meets this requirement);

2. The name and address of the person requesting the registration;

3. A representation of the mark – this may be a word and/or a picture/coloured (where applicable) illustration of your trademark (not to exceed 8cm x 8cm);

4. A statement or list of the goods and/or services for which registration of the mark is sought.

*This estimate covers the initial filing of the application with the Office through to receiving the “Certificate of Registration” of your trademark. We would advise that the entire process (where no objections are lodged) can take up to 6/7 months.

Please note that in the event of Litigation arising in the registration of your trademark this estimate does not include litigation fees.