It is worth noting that when the extension was first proposed the European Commission paid for a report that recommended the law remain as it was, since none of

It is worth noting that when the extension was first proposed the European Commission paid for a report that recommended the law remain as it was, since none of the arguments for a copyright extension were convincing. Thanks to some rather effective lobbying this was ignored, although the proposal was modified from the 95 years the industry wanted to 50 years. http://www.ivir.nl/publications/helberger/EIPR_2008_5.pdf http://www.ivir.nl/publications/helberger/EIPR_2008_5.pdf is the report itself, if you are interested in such things. Interestingly, you'll find certain artists much more passionate about retaining their recording rights than others. Cliff Richard was one of the major proponents for the EU extension, whereas Noel Gallagher is on the record as not really caring at all[1]. It's not a coincidence that the former wrote virtually none of his songs, and the latter will own much more lucrative publishing rights (which have the standard life+70 clause) in addition to recording rights. [1]: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/sep/15/copyright-extension-cliffs-law-beatles http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/sep/15/copyright-extens...