Macca gives new law the 'thumbs aloft'

Paul McCartney and Robbie Williams are among a host of stars protesting for a fair deal over copyright.

The stars, along with PJ Harvey, Kaiser Chiefs, The Clash and many others, took out a full page advert in the Financial Times to demand "Fair play for musicians".

As it stands, British artists only own copyright for their work for 50 years, unlike Americans who retain it for 95 years. This means that after that time, anyone can release the artists' songs without consulting them.

The government yesterday refused to extend the copyright beyond 50 years.

"We call upon the UK government to support the extension of copyright in sound recordings," said the advert.