The UK Government Shows Copyright Sanity

Well it looks like the UK government is going to come out against copyright extension, leaving it at 50 years.

Good for them.

You will, of course, get hand wringing from the usual morons like this:

The Guardian quoted Fran Nevrkla, kingpin of Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL), the outfit which collects the rakeoff from clubs, restaurants, and broadcasters: "This announcement effectively makes all performers and record companies second class citizens," he said.

How does keeping to a promise that was made to the performers and to the public 50 years ago treat them as "second class citizens". Copyright is not about guaranteeing that artists make money. It's about making sure that artists have an incentive to create.

Retroactive extension is not an incentive to create.

Copyright is a limited time exclusive license, not property, and the idea that you could retroactively rewrite the contract while works are literally dissolving in vaults is a disservice to society.