NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — Former Beatle Paul McCartney is taking Sony/ATV publishing to court in a bid to recover ownership of the band's music.
ABC reported that McCartney filed the lawsuit on Wednesday "to confirm his ownership of his U.S. reversionary copyrights, which are granted to him by U.S. copyright law, in the songs he wrote with John Lennon and recorded with The Beatles."
The lawsuit contends that McCartney has been serving notice of his claims of reversionary copyrights since 2008 and is expecting to claim the copyrights on October 18th, 2018.
According to ABC, the lawsuit appears to be a bid to avoid a legal strategy pursued by Sony/ATV in the U.K. courts in December to avoid an attempt by Duran Duran to regain publishing rights on their music.
McCartney's lawsuit isn't the first move the former Beatle has made to reclaim the band's music. In March, McCartney filed a termination notice for 32 Beatles songs with the US Copyright Office in December, taking advantage of the US copyright act of 1976, which gives songwriters an opportunity to reclaim rights after 56 years.
In a statement to ABC, Sony/ATV said that they had 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," and noted that they were "disappointed that they have filed this lawsuit which we believe is both unnecessary and premature."
Sony closed a deal estimated at $750 million in October to acquire the outstanding shares of Sony/ATV from the estate of the former Prince of Pop Michael Jackson. – Staff Writers
