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FULL TEXT Complaint Paul McCartney v. SONY
January 19, 2017
It's just not everyday that you come across a lawsuit with this title: James Paul McCartney, Plaintiff, v. SONY/ATV Music Publishing LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company, and SONY/ATV Tunes LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company, Defendants (Complaint for Declaratory Judgment, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, 17-CV-363 / January 18, 2017).
In addition to the novelty of that caption, consider these opening notes:
READ FULL-TEXT McCartney v. SONY ComplaintNATURE OF THIS ACTION1. This action involves ownership interests in the copyrights for certain musical works that Plaintiff Sir James Paul McCartney (known professionally as Paul McCartney) authored or co-authored with other former members of the world-famous musical group The Beatles. Defendants in this action are music publishing companies that claim to be the successors to publishers that acquired copyright interests in many of Paul McCartney's compositions in the 1960s and early 1970s. Starting in October 2008 and pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 304(c), Paul McCartney has served on Defendants and on others termination notices to reclaim his copyright interests in his musical compositions. The notices served on Defendants and recorded in the U.S. Copyright Office have effective dates starting October 5, 2018. In this action, Paul McCartney seeks a declaration 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.