Andrew Gowers (of the Gowers Report) disparages the current Culture Secretary's call for copyright extension

Andrew Gowers used to be editor of the Financial Times and he subsequently led the Government's Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, which proposed some beneficial changes in IP law. On 14 December 2008 the Financial Times carried an Opinion piece by Gowers criticising the current Culture Secretary Andy Burnham for suggesting that the Government will consider extending copyright for recordings to 70 years from the present 50. "All the respectable research shows that copyright extension has high costs to the public and negligible benefits for the creative community," says Gowers.

With thanks to the Open Rights Group, which I helped found, for highlighting this article.