Paul McCartney has struck a deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing to regain the rights to the music that he wrote for the Beatles.
McCartney has not had the rights to his own music since 1985 when ATV publishing, who had owned the rights since 1967, was put up for sale. McCartney was outbid by the late Michael Jackson who paid $47 million for the catalog.
In 1995, Jackson sold half of his holdings to Sony for $100 million. The other half was sold to Sony by Jackson’s estate for $750 million.
McCartney has claimed that he should have the rights returned to him starting next year due to the copyright laws which return songs back to the original composers after 56 years. Sony, on the other hand, had not acknowledged the scheduled transfer of rights and McCartney has been working with them the last couple of years to get plans in place but had to revert to legal moves.
The two parties have come to an agreement out-of-court and are not announcing the the details. McCartney’s attorney, Michael Jacobs, said “The parties have resolved this matter by entering into a confidential settlement agreement and jointly request that the Court enter the enclosed proposed order dismissing the above-referenced action without prejudice.”
