[A2k] UK: Music stars 'must keep copyright

[Michelle Childs]

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You may recall that a recent UK report  (The Gowers review into UK IP
rules ( including copyright) concluded on the basis of  detailed
economic and cultural analysis  that the UK's copyright term for
sound recordings SHOULD NOT be extended. Now the House of Commons
Culture committee ( cross party committee) apparently without
addressing Gowers has concluded that the term SHOULD be extended. The
final decision will be made at the European level ( it is anticipated
later this year) where the UK will have a vote. The UK Government
position on this issue is not yet clear.

Michelle

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6661283.stm
Music stars 'must keep copyright'

UK copyright laws should be extended to prevent musicians from
missing out on royalties in later life, MPs have said.

Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Cliff Richard are among the artists who
will see the current 50-year limit on their early sound recordings
expire soon.

The House of Commons culture committee said people had a "moral
right" to keep control of their creations while alive.

The copyright term for sound recordings should be extended to at
least 70 years, the committee recommended.

That would allow ageing performers to continue to benefit from their
early recordings throughout their lifetimes.

Over the next decade, some 7,000 people - including backing singers
and musicians - will lose royalties from recordings made in the late
1950s and 1960s, the MPs' report said.

'Weak' protection

The committee contrasted the current 50-year rule for recordings with
the position of songwriters, whose families keep the copyright to
their compositions for 70 years after they die.

"We have not heard a convincing reason why a composer and his or her
heirs should benefit from a term of copyright which extends for
lifetime and beyond, but a performer should not," the report said.

In the US, performers keep copyright for 95 years after the song has
been released, while the level is 70 years in Australia.

"Given the strength and importance of the creative industries in the
UK, it seems extraordinary that the protection of intellectual
property rights should be weaker here than in many other countries
whose creative industries are less successful," the report said.

"We recommend that the government should press the European
Commission to bring forward proposals for an extension of copyright
term for sound recordings to at least 70 years."

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