NEW YORK — Paul McCartney said he wants his music to get back to where it once belonged.
McCartney filed a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday against Sony/ATV over copyright ownership of the hit songs he wrote with John Lennon as part of The Beatles.
The copyrights were famously bought by Michael Jackson in 1985 and then fully sold over to Sony/ATV following his death. McCartney has long wanted the copyrights, and the filing says he has sent notice to Sony/ATV saying that he will claim them back under a provision of U.S. copyright law that makes that possible after a certain time.
The first song eligible to be claimed is “Love Me Do,” in October 2018. The rest of the catalog would follow in years after, ending in 2026.