[A2k] UK Govt rejects request to ask EU to extend copyright term for sound recordings

[Michelle Childs]

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Recently I posted the results of a UK  CMS Select Committee Report
into New Media and the Creative Industries. Cm 7186 . One of its
recommendations to the UK Govt was to urge them to press the European
Commission to extend the copyright term for sound recordings to 70
years.  The UK Govt has now responded to the report and firmly reject
this request,  based on the reasons set out in the Gowers report and
the Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam's report
on "Recasting of copyright and related rights for the knowledge
economy" See the full response below ( which also discusses DRM's)
The copyright extension bit is right at the end of the document.

http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Publications/archive_2007/
creative_new_media.htm


Unsurprisingly the record industry trade body is not happy about the
decision  nor is Roger Daltrey from The Who,  presumably speaking for
those artists who did not die before they got old, who said in a BBC
interview ' thousands of artists had "no pensions and rely on
royalties".

The Government's response is pretty robust:
"But the government said most artists would not benefit from an
extension because of their record contracts.

The majority of musicians had contracts requiring them to pass
royalties back to their record labels, the government said.

It also concluded that an extension would lead to increased costs for
consumers, who would be forced to pay for royalties for longer. "

  See here for full interview. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/
entertainment/6913656.stm

The record companies will now take their fight to Europe as will
consumer groups who oppose any extension.

Michelle Childs
Head of European Affairs
Knowledge Ecology International
michelle.childs@cptech.org