Reuters is reporting that the UK government has rejected pressure from the music industry to extend the term of copyright associated with sound recordings.
UK Government Rejects Music Copyright Term Extension
July 24, 2007
Share this post
2 Comments

Law Bytes
Episode 260: What the Government Didn’t Want You To Hear About Bill C-4 And Its Weak Political Party Privacy Rules
byMichael Geist

March 2, 2026
Michael Geist
February 23, 2026
Michael Geist
February 9, 2026
Michael Geist
Episode 256: Jennifer Quaid on Taking On Big Tech With the Competition Act's Private Right of Access
February 2, 2026
Michael Geist
Search Results placeholder
Recent Posts
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 260: What the Government Didn’t Want You To Hear About Bill C-4 And Its Weak Political Party Privacy Rules
Why the Online Harms Act is the Wrong Way to Regulate AI Chatbots
More Transparency Not Police Reporting: Navigating the Safety-Privacy Balance for AI ChatBots
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 259: The Privacy and Surveillance Risks of AI Chatbot Reporting to Police
Nobody Wants This: Senate Rejects Government’s Anti-Privacy Plan for Political Parties By Sending Bill Back to the House With a Sunset Clause

So despite not having a long monopoly (aka copyright) on music, the UK remains a “world-beating source of great music” according to the head of the IFPI. That seems to fly in the face of needing a longer copyright terms.
Of course, it would be totally wrong to extend copyright. When they made the copyrighted work, they knew the rules. For them now to ask that the rules be changed retroactively is wrong.
For them to complain they don\’t have pensions and need the royalties is wrong. They knew the royalties would run out. They know they need a pension. For them to lobby the government to make up for their lack of forward planning just shows how utterly stupid these musicians are.