Elvis Presley's legal heirs of lost a lawsuit
Wednesday in Germany claiming a fortune from Sony Music Entertainment
Germany for what they called the exploitation of the king of rock and
roll's greatest hits.
Munich judges mockingly quoted one of Elvis Presley's lyrics, "Money,
honey, if you want to get along with me," as they threw out a claim
by Elvis Presley Enterprises for a share of the record company's
profits over the past 40 years.
Presley signed away to RCA Records in 1973 the rights to 1,000
hits, including Heartbreak Hotel and Jailhouse Rock, for a lump sum
of $5.4 million. Sony later acquired the rights.
The singer's estate argued the package was now worth $130 million
thanks to German copyright extensions. They partly based
their claim on a 2002 provision in German rights law that ordains a
top-up of royalties for unexpected best-sellers.
But judges disagreed. Christian Czychowski, the lawyer for Elvis
Presley Enterprises, in which the icon's daughter Lisa-Marie Presley
holds a 15-per-cent stake, said his client would appeal.
