Cher Wins Copyright Battle With Sonny Bono’s Widow

May 30, 2024 News, Pop Music

Rolling Stone reports:

The dispute tied to Cher’s suit goes back many years. When she and Sonny settled their divorce in 1978, it was determined that Cher was entitled to a 50 percent stake in the Sonny & Cher publishing catalog. After Sonny died in 1998, Cher and Bono’s heirs entered a partnership over the songs.

But in 2016, Mary Bono exercised the Copyright Act’s “termination rights,” which allows songwriters or their heirs to win back control of their U.S. publishing rights after 35 years. By 2021, Mary Bono claimed that through those termination rights she could stop paying royalties, and Cher subsequently sued.

According to Wednesday’s ruling, there’s about $418,000 in royalties that would’ve been paid out to Cher as of June 30, 2022.

Read the full article.

After Sonny’s death from a skiing accident, Mary Bono succeeded him as a Republican member of the US House, serving seven terms until losing her 2012 reelection bid.

During her time in Congress, she was fairly good on LGBTQ issues, voting to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Stating her opposition to same-sex marriage, she still opposed efforts for a federal ban. After leaving Congress she joined roughly 80 former and current GOP reps in supporting equal marriage rights.

Now a DC lobbyist, in 2018 she earned criticism for crossing out the Nike swoop on her sneakers in protest of Colin Kaepernick.

Married to former GOP Rep. Connie Mack from 2013-2017, she is now married to former astronaut Stephen Oswalt.



Tags

© joemygod.com 2025