Former Beatle Paul McCartney has sued Sony Corp's music publishing arm in a federal court in New York, seeking to reclaim copyrights to 267 Beatles songs that pop star Michael Jackson acquired two decades before his death.

Jackson famously outbid McCartney for the publishing rights to the songs in 1985, paying Australian businessman Robert Holmes à Court $47.5 million (about €45 million) to obtain the collection as part of a trove of some 4,000 pop music tunes.

The Beatles songs and rest of the collection were then rolled into a joint venture Jackson formed in 1995 with his Sony-based label, creating Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which grew into the world’s biggest song publisher.

Jackson’s estate sold off its stake in Sony/ATV, including the Beatles collection, to Sony Corp for $750,000 in 2016, seven years after Jackson’s death.

According to his lawsuit, McCartney put Sony/ATV Music Publishing on notice as early as October 2008 that he wished to reclaim rights to the dozens of songs he co-wrote with the late John Lennon from September 1962 to June 1971.

The suit claims Sony/ATV has so far failed to acknowledge the composer’s rights to terminate copyright transfers of that music, including such hits as “All You Need is Love” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, under the US Copyright Act.

“Because the earliest of Paul McCartney’s terminations will take effect in 2018, a judicial declaration is necessary and appropriate at this time so that Paul McCartney can rely on quiet, unclouded title to his rights,” the suit said.

‘Unnecessary’

Sony/ATV Music Publishing called the lawsuit “unnecessary and premature” in an emailed statement.

“Sony/ATV has the highest respect for Sir Paul McCartney, with whom we have enjoyed a long and mutually rewarding relationship with respect to the treasured Lennon and McCartney song catalogue,” Sony/ATV said.

The lawsuit claimed Sony/ATV attempted to stall talks with McCartney until the conclusion of a separate lawsuit involving similar claims by British pop band Duran Duran in an English court.

Duran Duran lost their legal battle with a Sony/ATV subsidiary in December.

The suit is seeking a declaration from the court that McCartney can reclaim his copyright interests in the songs, as well as attorneys’ fees.

Reuters