Paul McCartney has filed a termination notice in the US reclaiming the publishing rights to The Beatles’ back catalogue.
Although Paul McCartney co-wrote most of The Beatles’ hits, he has never controlled the publishing.
However, the US copyright act of 1976 gives writers the opportunity to reclaim the rights after 56 years.
The Lennon-McCartney catalogue becomes available in 2018, and Paul McCartney has recently moved to recapture it.
According to Billboard, Paul McCartney filed a termination notice for 32 songs with the US Copyright Office in December.
Most of the songs date from 1962 – 1964, although others come from much later in The Beatles’ career. Some of those, including Come Together and Why Don’t We Do It In The Road, are not due to become available until 2025.
An unnamed source told the magazine Paul McCartney would only regain publishing rights for his half of the compositions, most of which he co-wrote with John Lennon. Furthermore, the act only applies to the US, so The Beatles’ back catalogue would remain in the hands of Sony / ATV in the rest of the world.
