Paul McCartney sues Sony in Beatles copyright dispute

Paul McCartney filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Sony/ATV Music Publishing in an effort to reclaim many Beatles songs, his reps confirmed to EW.

“Paul McCartney has today filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York against Sony/ATV to confirm his ownership in his US reversionary copyrights, which are granted to him by US copyright law, in the songs he wrote with John Lennon and recorded with The Beatles,” a McCartney spokesperson said in a statement to EW. “The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and bears the case no. 17cv363.”

According to the lawsuit acquired by The Hollywood Reporter, McCartney has sent termination notices to Sony/ATV Music Publishing beginning in 2008 to acquire rights to songs such as “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Love Me Do,” “Across the Universe,” and other hits, as early as 2018. Sony, according to McCartney’s lawsuit, never disputed the various termination notices, but has yet to concede to handing over the rights to the 74-year-old.

McCartney famously lost the rights to a number of Beatles songs in the 1980s after pop star Michael Jackson bought ATV’s publishing rights. The King of Pop’s estate sold the catalog to Sony last year for $750 million.

TMZ first reported the news.