Industry wary of latest term extension inquiry.

A new consultation on copyright term extension has raised eyebrows - and some hackles - throughout the industry because it appears to flout good practice in its narrow brief.

The UK-IPO, the body responsible for intellectual property, has launched an informal review on term extension following the European Commission's recent proposal to extend protection for sound recordings from 50 to 95 years.

Following the EC move, the Minister of IP Baroness Delyth Morgan revealed that the UK-IPO wants to conduct an informal consultation to discover whether an extension is justified in the UK.

Morgan says, "Because copyright represents a monopoly we need to be very clear that the circumstances justify an extension. We will therefore need to consider these proposals carefully to understand how they would work and what the benefits are likely to be."

Morgan and her colleagues have given the public and "all those who have an interest in these proposals" until the end of August to contact the UK-IPO.

The consultation gives a brief description of the measures proposed in the EC Directive, including the 20% fund for session players and the "use it or lose it" clause for performers to regain their rights if they are not being exploited.

Importantly, it also steers parties to the 2006 Gowers Review, which did not recommend extending term, and a Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law study, which provided the economic analysis for Gowers.