Elvis Presley Enterprises, a venture between the estate of the late musician and a private investment group, suffered a double defeat recently in an ongoing legal battle over German royalties. The dispute centers around an agreement made between Presley and Sony Music in the 70’s that was, according to the estate, based on an assumption about when the songs would enter the public domain. As a result, the estate has sought “equitable remuneration” from Sony over the fact the that the company has made what amounts to a windfall from copyright extensions that were never anticipated when the original contract was signed. However, this argument has failed in the German courts, and currently sits on appeal, while a U.S. court refused to force Sony to reveal financial data on earnings from the music. Currently, it appears that the Elvis enterprise is going to have to hope that the German appeal comes through or it looks like case closed on back royalties.
See Eriq Gardner, Elvis Presley Estate Suffers Setbacks in Royalty Fight, The Hollywood Reporter, March 3, 2016.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
