Good signs from the Gowers Review
The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property has brought the issue of copyright length into prominence in the past couple of months (and brought out swarms of music industry lobbyists). The BBC reported last night that the review is to recommend that copyright on sound recordings not be extended from the current period of 50 years. Whilst I am personally in favour of a significantly shorter terms the music industry, figure-headed by the likes of Sir Cliff Richard, had been lobbying for an extension to 95 years so a recommendation of no change does feel like a victory of sorts. The Review will be published next week as part of the Chancellors pre-budget report.
Via The Register.
December 8th, 2006 at 10:50 am
[...] You’re sick of reading about it and I’m sick of writing about it but copyright extension just won’t go away. After the Gower’s review recommended no extension to the copyright term for sound recordings I really thought we’d seen the back of this. Apparently not. This morning I read that 4500 musicians including Sir Cliff Richard and Katie Melua (now there’s a soporific duet) have signed an advert in the Financial Times calling again for an extension of copyright on sound recordings to 95 years. Is it just me or is this all getting a bit demeaning? My advice to the signatories of this advert: stop this pathetic grubbing around to wring out every last penny from your faded glories. If you want to make more money record some new songs, go on a tour, work as a musician. If that doesn’t work then do what the rest of us do and get a normal job. [...]