Paul McCartney Sues Sony For Rights To The Beatles Songs

Paul McCartney has filed a lawsuit against Sony/ATV seeking to regain the publishing rights to several songs he wrote as a member of The Beatles. McCartney filed the federal lawsuit in a New York district court.

As noted by The Hollywood Reporter, McCartney filed an action for declaratory judgement seeking clarification of ownership of his works with John Lennon from 1962 to 1971. The lawsuit claims that under the U.S. 1976 Copyright Act McCartney can reclaim his copyright on The Beatles songs due to the law’s provision that after 56 years rights must be returned to the original creator.

A similar suit was filed in English courts by Duran Duran who lost their case to a Sony/ATV subsidiary. McCartney’s complaint alleges he’s been sending termination notices to Sony/ATV since October 2008.

In the 1980s McCartney famously instructed his then friend Michael Jackson to invest in publishing, and the King Of Pop went on to purchase the rights to an extensive collection of The Beatles songs including “Ticket To Ride,” “Yesterday” and “Hey Jude.” Jackson’s estate recently sold all of their shares in the catalog to Sony.

In response to the filing, Sony/ATV issued this statement to The Hollywood Reporter:

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.

Follow this link for more on the case and to read Sir Paul’s full complaint.