We're all going on a... free trip to Barbados?

According to an article in yesterday's London Lite, Cliff Richard can no longer remember the lyrics to some of his old songs At the age of 66, Cliff, nicknamed the Peter Pan of Pop for staying at the top for 48 years, has told those working behind the scenes of his forthcoming tour of Great Britain and Ireland that he is finding it hard to remember all the words Some might say that's not such a bad thing... But when seen in the light of another report - that Sir Cliff has allegedly been lobbying (successfully it seems if true) for an extension of the duration of the protection granted by current intellectual property laws - then some interesting questions are raised. I've written about my views on IPR before - I won't drag up those concerns again here. Of course, Cliff wrote these songs and he deserves to be recompensed for that. Legally, they do still belong to him. But in another sense, can he really be said to own a song that he no longer remembers. Don't those members of the public who do remember the song not own it in a way that he can no longer claim to? What applies to songs, also applies to brands. Once an idea is out there, in the collective heads of the public, they too then own that brand. The copyright holders may hold the legal rights to a brand's use, but the public own it in their minds and it is in there that they will decide whether or not they want to be a part of it. And there's a chance that, like with the words to Cliff's songs, some may even know it better than many within the company itself...