The judge indicated that the claimants had a "more than arguable" case
A trial regarding the copyright and performance rights of iconic 1960s guitarist Jimi Hendrix's bandmates, bass guitarist Noel Redding, and drummer 'Mitch' Mitchell, is set to proceed as per a recent ruling by a judge, reported the Law Society Gazette.
In the recent judgment of Noel Redding Estate Limited & Anor v Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited, the focus was mainly on Sony's application for summary judgment or strike out.
Noel Redding Estate Limited and Mitch Mitchell Estate Limited maintained that they inherited the rights previously held by Redding and Mitchell, who died in 2003 and 2008, respectively. The estates sought to establish that they had an ownership stake in the sound recording copyrights and in the performers' property rights.
Sony contended that the worldwide copyright for the relevant sound recordings is held by Experience Hendrix LLC and Authentic Hendrix LLC, which are both registered in Washington state. The company had unsuccessfully attempted to move the case to New York before the current proceedings in New York were put on hold pending UK claim’s resolution.
Justice Michael Green, who described Hendrix as “arguably the greatest rock guitarist ever” in a statement published by the Gazette, determined that the claims related to copyright and performers' property rights should proceed to trial.
“I believe that the claimants have a more than arguable case that the original consent does not include consent to the present exploitation of their performers' property rights and that this question may well involve a factual inquiry. Accordingly, those claims should be allowed to go to trial”, he said in a statement published by the Gazette. “The claimants have a real prospect of succeeding on their case”.
Nonetheless, some claims were withdrawn by the claimants, and certain parts of the particulars of claim were struck out.
