Cliff's Law

[hernando]

I have searched this site but cannot see that anyone has previously posted on this topic. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Following some discoveries in Grandpa's Attic, I have been looking for the current legal position re old recordings from the early 1960's, and as I understood it, copyright in most recorded music would last for 50 years from the end of the calendar year it was released. At such time ‘old recordings’ would then come 'out of copyright' and into the public domain.

However, in Brussels, on 7 September 2011, a key EU committee voted to approve a directive (a.k.a. Cliff's law, after Cliff Richard no less!) that would extend music copyright from 50 to 70 years. The Council of Ministers then gave it the nod on Monday 12th September 2011 so member states were further obliged to enshrine the extended copyright in their law. Presumeably this new legislation was automatically adopted by the UK?

The wealth of British music from the 1960s, will almost certainly remain in the grasp of EMI and suchlike for another two decades!

[Didier]

in Brussels, on 7 September 2011, a key EU committee voted to approve a directive (a.k.a. Cliff's law, after Cliff Richard no less!) that would extend music copyright from 50 to 70 years. The Council of Ministers then gave it the nod on Monday 12th September 2011 so member states were further obliged to enshrine the extended copyright in their law. Presumeably this new legislation was automatically adopted by the UK?

The wealth of British music from the 1960s, will almost certainly remain in the grasp of EMI and suchlike for another two decades!

An EU directive is never automatically adopted in EU countries. It has to adopted through each country's procedures, but it has to be done beforer 1 november 2013. Looks like it's not done yet for UK :

2 July 2012
In addition, the Government will be introducing an amendment which will take the form of a power to amend the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 by regulations in order to implement EU directive 2011/77/EU on the term of protection for sound recordings. This power will allow the Government to implement the EU directive while maintaining the current level and scale of criminal penalties for infringement activity applicable under UK law.

Didier