The BBC Trust's decision to close BBC Jam was a sign the corporation would not abuse its privileged position under its new regulatory regime, according to a Commons select committee report published today.

The culture, media and sport select committee report said the trust's decision to axe the online education service was "an encouraging sign of real change" in the corporation's approach to regulating activity that could damage commercial rivals' businesses.

However, the report, New Media and the Creative Industries, concluded that it was too soon to say whether the trust, which took over regulation and governance of the BBC from the board of governors in January, would be an effective body.

"We have yet to see whether the new arrangements for governance of the BBC will inspire any greater confidence in the commercial sector that the BBC will take account of its privileged position in the market," the report said.

In the report, the committee makes a number of recommendations following its 18-month inquiry into the effects of technology on creative content in the UK.

Noting the role of the internet and of social networking websites in distributing unlicensed creative material, the committee is calling on "internet service providers and internet search-based businesses" to "do more to discourage piracy and to take more responsibility for dealing with unlicensed material".

The committee called for the establishment of a "proactive body to examine claims that unlicensed material is being made available".

At the moment, Google, YouTube and ISPs take down illegal material only when notified by a rights holder.

However, media companies and the creative industry argue that in the digital age this is not enough because vast quantities of copyrighted content is posted and proactive filtering systems need to be introduced.

The committee also said it expected the terms of trade agreements reached between broadcasters and producers over new media rights usage of content would need to be reviewed as the market developed.

"We expect that a further review of the terms of trade will become necessary once the value of on-demand services to broadcasters' funding models becomes clearer," the report stated.

The committee also urged Ofcom to "remain vigilant" in monitoring how broadcasters commission programming and strike deals over rights.

The committee backed the media watchdog's position on high definition TV, arguing that there was no "persuasive case" for reserving spectrum that will be released through analogue switchoff.

Terrestrial broadcasters want to have a special allocation of spectrum for HDTV, which is currently only available on satellite and cable.

Ofcom has argued that HD services - probably between three and five channels - can be launched on Freeview without using up any of the new spectrum released by switchover.

The committee also concluded that copyright for sound recordings should be extended from the existing 50-year term to at least 70 years.

It rejected the findings of a Treasury-commissioned review conducted last year by the former Financial Times editor Andrew Gowers, which recommended keeping the status quo.

A broad coalition of industry groups and artists including Cliff Richard, whose earliest recordings will be among the first of the rock era to fall out of copyright from next year, have campaigned for the term to be extended to as much as 95 years.

"We have not heard a convincing reason why a composer and his or her heirs can benefit from a term of copyright which extends for lifetime and beyond, but a performer should not," the committee concluded.

Under the existing law, composers and writers retain copyright of their works for 70 years after their deaths, but the performers of sound recordings lose their copyright 50 years after the recording was made.

Experts doubt there will be any changes, however, because 50 years is the time specified in a European directive designed to harmonise intellectual property laws across the continent.

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