Beatles Given Green Light To Sue EMI

A New York court has given The Beatles the go-ahead to sue EMI Group for damages and lost royalty payments from their lucrative recording catalogue, but the music company will likely appeal the decision.

Surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, the estate of the late George Harrison and the band's Apple Corps company were cleared to proceed with the litigation by the New York State Supreme Court. They've launched similar legal action against EMI in Britain.

The Beatles are suing for damages and lost royalties of 30 million pounds ($63.2 million) and want to reclaim the rights to all of their master recordings. They sued EMI and Capitol Records in North America to reclaim unpaid U.S. royalties, and EMI in the U.K. to reclaim royalties from the rest of the world, last December.

Their lawsuit includes damages related to records that EMI claims were "scrapped." But the band believes that they were either sold or given away, and that they're entitled to payment from them.

Beatles lawyer Nicholas Valner said in an Associated Press article that the former Fab Four also want their masters returned because EMI and Capitol "can't be trusted with the masters anymore and they should be returned to The Beatles.

"The band and EMI were also embroiled in a legal dispute in the '80s, when the surviving musicians accused the company of improper accounting. The case was resolved in 1989.

"Artists from time to time seek audits on their accounts," an EMI spokesperson said in the AP story. "We are not unhappy with that and are happy to have full financial transparency.

"There are sometimes differences of opinion, especially when contracts are so complex and there may be issues of contractual interpretation. In these situations, the parties may resort to the courts or mediation."