McCartney in Beatles song rights deal
Print Edition
PAUL McCartney has reached a settlement over copyright to the Beatles catalog, avoiding a legal battle that could have had wide ramifications for the music business.
McCartney filed a lawsuit in January in a US court to secure rights from Sony ATV Music Publishing in the wake of a British judicial ruling that shook up the industry.
Michael Jacobs, a lawyer for McCartney, late last week informed a judge that the two sides “have resolved this matter by entering into a confidential settlement agreement.”
Jacobs asked Edgardo Ramos, a federal judge in New York, to dismiss the lawsuit.
The case revolves around the US Copyright Act of 1976 which aimed to strengthen the hand of songwriters — whose relationship with music publishers, who hold rights and distribute royalties, has been notoriously rocky.
Under the act, songwriters could reclaim copyright from music publishers 35 years after they gave them away — or 56 years for songs from before 1978. While US law is often seen as the gold standard in the entertainment industry, a British court took a different approach in December.
It refused to grant rights to 1980s pop sensations Duran Duran — known for hits such as “Rio” — on the grounds that US law did not apply in Britain.
In his lawsuit, McCartney’s lawyer said that a Sony ATV executive approached him at a concert as the Duran Duran case went forward and warned that the publisher would fight harder for the Beatles catalog.
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