Overview
- The liability-only case opened in London on Dec. 9 and is scheduled to finish Dec. 18, with a written judgment to follow.
- The estates of bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell seek recognition of shares in sound recording copyrights and performers’ property rights for Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold As Love, and Electric Ladyland.
- Lawyers for the estates say 1960s and 1970s agreements did not contemplate digital exploitation and argue the musicians earned little while streaming generated significant revenue.
- Sony Music UK argues producers owned the original recording copyrights and cites 1970s releases authorizing exploitation by any means then known or later developed, noting it has used the recordings in the UK since 2009.
- Sony warns that a ruling for the estates could open the door to widespread retrospective claims across deals with artists from the 1960s and 1970s.