TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen yesterday called for a review of EU and Irish copyright legislation. Mr Cowen was speaking at the announcement of a second investment by the Government’s €500 million Innovation Fund Ireland.

“It is time to review our copyright legislation, and examine the balance between the rights holder and the consumer, to ensure that our innovative companies operating in the digital environment are not disadvantaged against competitors,” he said.

A review is needed at a European level to examine how legislation deals with issues such as intellectual property and in particular the use of copyrighted material, he said.

Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment Batt O’Keeffe will examine Ireland’s domestic application of copyright legislation to identify any changes that should be made within the existing EU framework, he added.

Meanwhile, leading US venture capital firm Polaris Venture Partners announced plans to open a Dogpatch Labs business acceleration facility in Dublin, the first outside the US. The lab will provide space for 30 teams working on new businesses at early stages of development. The National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) is supporting this development by investing $50 million (€37.8 million) in a Polaris fund.

This is part of the €125 million being provided by the NPRF to the Innovation Fund Ireland, a Government initiative launched in the New York Stock Exchange last July to attract venture capital fund managers to Ireland.

Yesterday’s announcement was described by Mr Cowen as a significant coup for Ireland.

Venture capital investment is about “more than just a cheque book”, he said, as it stimulates business creation, which in turn drives job creation.

Terry Maguire, founder and managing partner of Polaris, said Ireland, and Dublin in particular, offered the best technology environment in Europe. It has a young, vibrant, highly-educated workforce and a large number of great technology companies are already based here, he said.

Yesterday’s announcement follows the decision by the NPRF in October to invest €30 million in two funds of venture capital firm DFJ Esprit, as part of the Innovation Funds Ireland initiative.

DFJ has now opened an international office in Dublin. Mr Cowen said that the firm will work with the IDA to help bring “fast growing venture backed companies” to Ireland.