by Felix Cohen
Great news this morning from the BBC; it appears that the Gower Report has recommended that copyright term for recorded work remain at the current length of 50 years, not be extended to 95 years. This is despite extensive lobbying behind the scenes from the major record industry players and high-profile artists, such as Cliff Richards.
Interestingly, however, the BBC appear to be the only people reporting this. Is it possible that someone from the Gowers report has leaked this information in order to hold the government to task when the full report comes out (we're expecting it Wednesday 6th December at 12.30)? At least that way, if the Government does turn round and support the lobbying of the large record labels, it will be clear that this is not what Gowers recommended, so there is a clear accountability issue. Certainly the wording of the article suggests that this is a preliminary announcement before the main report arrives, so let's hope that now the results of the inquiry have entered the public domain, there will be enough pressure on the government to act on these recommendations.
Copyright term extension has been a contentious issue for both the UK and US governments; the US had the 'Sonny Bono' Copyright Term Extension Act passed in 1998, which extended copyright term in the US by 20 years. This was challenged by the Eldred vs Ashcroft case in 2002/3, but the Supreme Court ruled that the CTEA terms were constitutional. Since then, the act has come under fire by hampering many individuals and institutions that require the use of copyrighted material for academic and 'fair use' purposes.Here in England, we have a 50-year term of copyright on recordings (note the distinction from Composing or performing) which it was proposed should be extended to 95 years to protect the 'golden years' of rock and roll, as even some of the Beatles' early work was coming close to becoming public domain.
Both these copyright extension policies adversely affect those of us who simply like to enjoy our music. They have a bearing on whether we are able to shift our music from vinyl to tape, cd or MP3, what DRM gets placed on music we buy online and how we choose to consume our music. Furthermore, keeping recordings under a punitive, ad-hoc, copyright term length stops people from reusing, or even experiencing for the first time, the cultural history that public domain recordings should represent.
And if you don't want to take me seriously, here's Dave Rowntree from Blur(!)
I'm relieved that the Gowers Review hasn't bowed to industry pressure to rob society of its inheritance. If this report is accurate, sense has prevailed and I hope the Government follows this recommendation.
For more information on the copyright term extension issue, visit the Open Rights Group and their releasethemusic campaign.
