EU assembly backs 70-year copyright for musicians

By Huw Jones

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The European Parliament voted on Thursday in favor of extending copyright on music recordings in the European Union to 70 years from 50 at present, diluting a draft law in a bid to reach a final deal.

The measure, if it becomes law, will ensure for example that recordings of the early Beatles hit "Love Me Do" do not become copyright-free from 2012.

EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy had proposed prolonging performance copyright for singers and musicians to 95 years but many EU states, which have joint say with parliament, felt this was too long.

Parliament voted 377 in favor of 70 years, with 178 against and 37 abstentions.

Brian Crowley, the Irish lawmaker steering the measure through parliament, said earlier this week he was confident that a vote in favor of 70 years would win over enough EU states for final adoption.

Negotiations among EU governments begin straight away in an attempt to reach a final deal.

Irish rock band U2 and British singer Cliff Richard have called for longer copyright protection, arguing that European artists should be put on a more equal copyright footing with those from the United States.

Under the law, a fund dedicated to session musicians would be set up and receive at least once a year 20 percent of the revenue gains from the copyright extension.