Greg Knight MP

Greg Knight MP (Conservative) MP for East Yorkshire. He plays the drums and is a member of the parliamentary rock group 'MP4' with Kevin Brennan MP, Pete Wishart MP and Ian Cawsey MP.

Copyright

House of Commons debate Point of Order Sound Recordings (Copyright Term Extension) 5 December 2007

Pete Wishart, supported by Mr. Ian Cawsey MP, Mr. Mark Field MP, Sandra Gidley MP, John Robertson MP, Rosemary McKenna MP, Adam Price MP, Mr. Greg Knight MP, John Hemming MP, Stewart Hosie MP, Kelvin Hopkins MP and Janet Anderson MP, presented a Bill to extend beyond 50 years the copyright term of sound recordings; and for connected purposes: And the same was read the First time; and ordered to be read a Second time on Friday 7 March, and to be printed [Bill 33].

Signed Early Day Motion Copyright term for producers and performers 1 May 2007

That this House notes that 50 years ago Lonnie Donegan's Cumberland Gap was No. 1 in the charts for five weeks; is concerned that due to the present law governing payments for use of audio recordings this track will go out of copyright at the end of 2007 and that the family of Lonnie Donegan, who would have been 76 on 29th April, and the other performers, Denny Wright, John Nicholls and Mickey Ashman, and their company Pye Records, which produced this unique recording, will no longer receive any royalties, nor have any say in how this recording is used; is further concerned that thousands of musicians and their record companies will lose out over the next few years because of the shorter copyright term for sound recordings relative to that granted to almost all other creators, including the songwriters and the sleeve artists who enjoy copyright for the whole of their life plus a further 70 years; notes with concern that, according to a Musicians Union survey, 90 per cent. of musicians earn less than £15,000 a year, and thus acknowledges that the extension of copyright will come as a much needed financial boost to many low paid musicians; and asks the Government to make representations to the European Commission to look at this inequity.

See Copyright extension: Seems our MPs haven’t been doing their homework for more information.