Extension of Copyright Term
Prior to 1 January 1996, the UK's general copyright term was the life of the author plus 50 years. The extension, to the life of the author plus 70 years, was introduced by The Duration of Copyright and Rights in Performances Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/3297), implementing Council Directive No.93/98/EEC, to harmonise the duration of copyright throughout the European Economic Community.
It contained a controversial provision, which caused certain copyrights to revive; material which had been out of copyright came back into copyright. If the 1988 Act offered a shorter term of protection than the new Regulations, and if the work was still under copyright on 1 July 1995 anywhere in the EEA, then the copyright of that work was revived. But if the 1988 Act offered a longer term than the new regulations, then the old longer term still applied.
The normal practice of British law would have been to freeze the extension, applying it only to new works, rather than reviving extinct copyrights.
Read more about this topic: Copyright Law Of The United Kingdom
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