Contributing Author: Bryan Sullivan
Cher is suing the widow of Sonny Bono and his estate for trying to hoodwink Cher out of royalties that the famous duo’s 1978 Marriage Settlement Agreement allegedly states are hers. Sonny and Cher were married from 1967 to 1975, and recorded popular hits such as I Got You Babe, The Beat Goes On, Baby Don’t Go, Little Man, and Bang Bang. According to Mary Bono, via her lawyer’s comment to the Los Angeles Times, "The Copyright Act allows Sonny's widow and children to reclaim Sonny's copyrights from publishers, which is what they did." Attorney Daniel Schacht went on to state that, "Representative Bono remains open to continuing a private discussion about this, but we are confident that, if necessary, the court will affirm their position."
Cher is claiming that this has little to do with the Copyright Act (the complaint calls it “wholly inapplicable”) and rights termination, but it has everything to do with Sonny and Cher’s 1978 Marriage Settlement Agreement to share their rights in musical composition royalties, record royalties, and other assets in perpetuity. She also contends that Mary Bono’s direction to Wixen Music Publishing to terminate rights without Cher’s consent is in violation of Sonny and Cher’s 1978 Marriage Settlement Agreement, with the complaint stating, “The Heirs’ issuance of their notice of termination was done without Plaintiff’s (Cher’s) knowledge or participation, and Plaintiff never requested that Wixen assist in the issuance of any notice of termination.”
Rights termination is a hot topic and is at the center of Stan Lee’s heirs’, et. al. lawsuit against Disney/Marvel. The rights owners (usually the creators) present a unified front against the companies that have been exploiting the creators’ rights in an attempt to reclaim them. Cher and her Veritas Trust and Sonny’s heirs and their Bono Collection Trust might very well have a case to reclaim their rights, however this lawsuit seems to have everything to do with the 1978 Marriage Settlement Agreement and who owns the rights to Sonny and Cher’s popular collection. It seems completely out of line that Mary Bono can unilaterally act to attempt to revert rights if the 1978 Marriage Settlement Agreement entitles Cher to 50% of the royalties.
It might be that Mary Bono and her attorneys have spotted loopholes in the 1978 Dissolution of Marriage Agreement, however it is hard to know without seeing it. On the surface, however, it seems unlikely since, after Sonny Bono’s death from a skiing accident in 1998, Cher filed a subsequently approved creditor’s claim “raising Sonny’s obligations to her under the Marriage Settlement Agreement, including but not limited to the obligation to pay and account to her for monies due under paragraph (10) of the Marriage Settlement Agreement and which include Plaintiff’s fifty percent of the Royalties.”
Cher is seeking $1,000,000 in damages, leading us to believe that monies have already been withheld from Cher. It will be interesting to see how this plays out or if this is worked out behind the scenes.
Legal Entertainment has reached out to representatives for both Cher and Mary Bono for comment, but had not received replies at the time of publication. This article will be updated to include those comments once received.
Bryan Sullivan, Partner at Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae, advises and represents his clients as a legal strategist in all their business affairs. He has significant experience on the litigation and appeals side of the practice, as well as with entertainment and intellectual property contracts, investment and financing agreements, and corporate structure documents on the dealmaking side.
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Cher Claims “I Got You Babe,” Sues Mary Bono For Share Of Royalties - Forbes
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