Paul McCartney sues Sony/ATV over Beatles song rights

Paul McCartney has filed a federal lawsuit in the US against music publisher Sony/ATV to regain the right of ownership to songs he wrote with The Beatles.

The former Beatle first launched legal action against the publisher back in 2008 when he began the process of reclaiming the publishing rights to 178 Beatles songs in the US market.

In the lastest case filed by McCartney, the songwriting legend is claiming that “the Termination Notices served on Defendants are valid, that the Termination Notices will re-vest Paul McCartney’s copyright ownership in him on their effective termination dates, and that the Termination Notices do not give rise to any valid contract claim against Paul McCartney.”

Under the US 1976 Copyright Act, McCartney is entitled to reclaim ownership of works created before 1978, that according to the law, must be returned to their creators 56 years after the date of the original copyright.

The group’s eligible tracks, which includes timeless hits Love Me Down, P.S I Love You, I Want To Hold Your Hand and All You Need Is Love, will hence be open for McCartney to reclaim in 2018.

In response to the lawsuit, Sony have indicated that they will not agree to transferring the rights to McCartney, despite numerous requests. The case reads: “On January 9 2017, Paul McCartney’s attorneys received an email from Defendants. The message first asserted that SATV has no wish to engage in litigation with Paul McCartney.”

In a statement, the label said: “Sony/ATV has the highest respect for Sir Paul McCartney with whom we have enjoyed a long and mutually rewarding relationship with respect to the treasured Lennon & McCartney song catalog.

“We have collaborated closely with both Sir Paul and the late John Lennon’s Estate for decades to protect, preserve and promote the catalog’s long-term value. We are disappointed that they have filed this lawsuit which we believe is both unnecessary and premature.”

Sony came in possession of the rights to The Beatles back catalogue when the company acquired the Michael Jackson estate last year for $US750 million. With little time to see any significant financial return from the assets, Sony are naturally reluctant to cooperate.

The lawsuit mirrors a case filed by legendary group Duran Duran against Sony/ATV in the UK last December. In a ruling that may dampen McCartney’s odds, the UK court Judge ruled in favour of Sony citing English laws of contract that prohibit the band from seeking to reclaim rights over their own works.

By the 1980s, McCartney and Lennon assigned the rights to much of The Beatles songs that had been “written between 1962 and 1971 to a range of music publishers, including ATV, in exchange for royalties,” the case notes.

Currently, the copyrights that McCartney owns are held and managed by his company MPL Communications, an administrative client of Kobalt.

To view the full case, click here.