McCartney Times

Duran Duran have welcomed a decision by judge Richard Arnold to allow them to take their legal battle with Sony/ATV over the US reversion right to the Court Of Appeal.As previously reported, Duran Duran and Sony/ATV went to court last year, with the publisher ultimately winning. This test case seeks clarity on whether or not British songwriters who assigned copyrights in their songs to a British publisher under English contract law can reclaim those rights in the US by employing the reversion right contained within American copyright law.Under the US copyright system, songwriters who assign their copyrights to a publisher can terminate that assignment – and claim back their rights – after 35 years. That termination or reversion right was added to American copyright law in the 1970s. Though the time period before termination is allowed was longer for copyrights that had already been assigned when the new law was passed, which means it’s only relatively recently that American songwriters have started terminating past publishing deals.Due to how recently this has all kicked in, certain ambiguities around how the reversion right works haven’t been previously tested in court. That includes whether or not British songwriters – whose wider contracts are not subject to any termination right – can nevertheless employ the reversion right in the US, and take back rights in their songs in the lucrative American market.

Source: Duran Duran given all clear to appeal reversion right ruling | Complete Music Update