Do the royalties go on? Asks judge in Sonny & Cher copyright case

On April 25, 2022, Reuters published an article by Blake Brittain on Cher’s lawsuit claiming Sonny Bono’s widow, Mary Bono, improperly tried to terminate her rights to Sonny & Cher royalties. The article quotes Daniel Schacht, attorney for Bono.

Excerpted from the article:

“Bono’s attorney Daniel Schacht of Donahue Fitzgerald said Monday that the heirs are not bound to the divorce agreement, “a contract that they didn’t sign,” and that it did not affect the termination rights they inherited.

Cher’s attorney Peter Anderson of Davis Wright Tremaine argued that the royalties are different from the “copyright rights” that the termination law applies to.

[Judge] Kronstadt said the case seems to revolve around whether the termination law covers copyrights and their “associated revenue,” or only the copyrights themselves.”

Both parties were asked to brief Judge Krondstadt on that issue specifically within two weeks.”

Read the full article, Do the royalties go on? Asks judge in Sonny & Cher copyright case.