Heirs of Jimi Hendrix’s Bandmates Sue Sony Over Copyrights
A dispute over the rights to Jimi Hendrix’s music has escalated into a transatlantic legal war, with the heirs of his former bandmates filing a new lawsuit in British court against Sony Music Entertainment.
Weeks after Sony and Hendrix’s estate filed a lawsuit in New York federal court, the estates of bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell fired back with a case of their own on Friday (Feb. 4) in London’s High Court of Justice.
At issue in the dueling lawsuits are the rights to music created by the trio’s Jimi Hendrix Experience. Hendrix’s estate says Redding and Mitchell signed away any rights shortly after the legendary rocker died in 1970; the bandmates’ heirs say those deals were flawed and that they’re owed millions in royalties.