Copyright comes to the crunch.

Term extension decision rests on a knife edge as EU meeting in Brussels convenes

By Robert Ashton

The UK industry is on the cusp of one of its most important victories in decades, with a crunch meeting later this week set to decide whether copyright term is extended across Europe.

Senior executives are likely to bite their nails to the quick before the week ends as they wait out the meeting of the Legal Affairs Committee - the lead agency on term in the EU - which is due to convene in Brussels on Thursday.

This meeting is likely to give the clearest indication yet of whether the industry has succeeded in persuading the European Parliament to move beyond the current 50 years protection to - or near - the 95 years suggested by last year's Directive on copyright term.

Although the decision rests on a knife edge, the mood in the pro- extension camp is one of quiet optimism, with many UK executives familiar with the workings of Brussels confident the tide is turning in their favour.

PPL director of government relations Dominic McGonigal, who has lobbied for term extension over seven years, fighting the recommendations of the much-maligned, but Government-backed, Gowers Review, believes the momentum for change has now swung in favour of extension. "We've done our groundwork; we're getting close," he says.