UK Government Copyright Plans

The British government may be paving the way to extending copyright law as it exists in this country, according to Culture Secretary Andy Burnham.

At present copyright law in the United Kingdom only lasts for 50 years before the sound recording would come into the public domain. For obvious reasons, the music industry has been campaigning strongly for an extension on the copyright law.

Burnham was speaking at the UK Music Creators' Conference when he said "it's only right that someone who created or contributed to something of real value gets to benefit for the full course of their life."

Amongst the high profile stars in opposition to the law as it stands are Sir Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard and The Who's Roger Daltrey. They point out that under American law copyright lasts for 95 years.

Burnham expanded on his points to BBC News. "There is a moral case for performers benefiting from their work throughout their entire lifetime," he said. "We must ensure that any extension delivers maximum benefit to performers and musicians. That's the test of any model as we go forward."