Report backs music copyright extension

By Kate Holton

LONDON (Reuters) - British copyright laws on sound recordings must be extended beyond 50 years to prevent veteran musicians such as Cliff Richard and Paul McCartney from losing royalties in later life, a report said on Wednesday.

The issue over copyright has become a hot topic in Britain as early hits from ageing acts approach the cut-off point, just as downloading music sparks a revival for back catalogues.

Under current rules, performers can earn royalties for 50 years from the end of the year when a sound recording was made.

In comparison, novelists, playwrights and composers enjoy copyright protection for their life and 70 years afterwards.

If the rules do not change, Richard's first hit "Move It!" from 1958 would lose protection in 2009 while early tracks from The Beatles such as "Love Me Do" will also soon be out of date.

"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," parliament's culture, media and sport committee said in its report.

"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 copyright protection for performers in the United States is 95 years from release and 70 years in Australia.