Paul McCartney Is Trying To Reclaim The Rights To His Beatles Songs

Paul McCartney is in the process of reclaiming the rights to the Beatles song catalog, and has reportedly begun filing the necessary paperwork. Billboard reports that McCartney is using a provision of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 to get the rights back. The law allows songwriters to regain their rights after 56 years, or two consecutive 28-year periods. To do so, they must file termination claims between two and 10 years before that window closes. Sony/ATV’s rights for the Beatles’ songs expire between 2018 and 2025. This only applies in the United States. Sony/ATV would still control worldwide rights. Billboard adds that, because John Lennon was killed in 1980, his portion was up for reversion in 1990, but Sony/ATV made a deal with Yoko Ono to keep control of the rights for the duration of the copyright. The law stipulates that, in the case of co-writes, the copyright expires 70 years after the death of the last author. Copyright(c) 2016 RTTNews.com. All Rights ReservedLess «