Labour MP Michael Connarty has proposed the motion, which claims
that the 50 year cut-off is unfair.
He proposes "that this House notes that 50 years ago Lonnie
Donegan's Cumberland Gap was No. 1 in the charts for five weeks; is
concerned that due to the present law governing payments for use of
audio recordings this track will go out of copyright at the end of
2007 and that the family of Lonnie Donegan, who would have been 76
on 29th April, and the other performers will no longer receive any
royalties, nor have any say in how this recording is used".
The copyright in sound recordings lasts for 50 years, whereas
protection for songwriters and other writers as well as artists
lasts for the lifetime of the artist plus 70 years.
Connarty's motion "asks the Government to make representations
to the European Commission to look at this inequity".
The Treasury has backed Andrew Gowers' report into intellectual
property and its recommendation that the copyright term for sound
recordings stay as it is.
Gowers was employed by the Treasury to conduct a report on the
state of intellectual property law. One of the most contentious
issues was that of copyright extension, and the government came
under intense lobbying pressure from the entertainment industry,
and music business figures in particular.
But Gowers exclusively revealed to OUT-LAW Radio last month
that, far from leaning towards extension, he almost recommended
shortening the term of copyright.
"I could have made a case for reducing it based on the economic
arguments," he said. "We certainly considered it, and if you look
at the report that came from the academics that we commissioned to
examine the arguments and examine the evidence they also argued
very robustly that 50 years could be arguably more than
enough."
"In the end we took the politically prudent course. To be
honest, reducing it in any case would be a very big international
debate. It would stand very little chance of making headway in
Europe," said Gowers, who is a former Financial Times editor.
Connarty's proposal is an early day motion (EDM). EDMs are
rarely given parliamentary time, but have in the past proved the
starting point for successful proposals.