Sony/ATV demands Beatles doc lawsuit be dismissed following UK copyright ruling
Music publisher Sony/ATV and Beatles company Apple Corps have both asked a New York federal court to dismiss litigation relating to a dispute over a documentary about the fab four. The producer of said documentary wants its lawsuit to be ‘administratively closed’, so taken off the agenda for now, but with the option to resume proceedings later.
As previously reported, in 2013 a company called Ace Arts went legal against the Sony publisher and Apple Corps over a documentary it was making featuring footage of The Beatles’ first ever US concert in Washington in 1964.
Ace Arts claimed that Sony/ATV had originally agreed to licence the publishing rights it controls in the various Beatles songs that appear in the concert recording, but later bailed on that agreement citing a clause stating that it was always subject to Apple Corps approval. The claimants alleged that the change of heart was because Sony/ATV and Apple Corps had decided to collaborate on a similar project about the Washington gig, and that that breached American competition laws.
Ace Arts originally filed a complaint in California, though then moved its lawsuit to New York. But Sony/ATV, aside from disputing most of the film firm’s claims, pointed out the same dispute was working its way through the UK courts – in the guise of a copyright infringement lawsuit – and that therefore the separate US proceedings were unnecessary, even if the latter were more competition than copyright law base
By: Chris Cooke
Source: Complete Music Update
