Beatles Cleared to Sue Record Companies

The surviving Beatles were today given the go-ahead to sue EMI and Capitol Records, claiming the music companies had used clandestine schemes in an attempt to "pocket millions of dollars" of royalties due to the band.

The plaintiffs - Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, the estate of the late George Harrison and the Beatles' Apple Corps company - want at least $25m (£13.2m) in damages in the suit for fraud and breach of contract.

The case also seeks to reclaim rights to all the Liverpool band's master recordings.

Last week, Justice Karla Moskowitz, a New York state supreme court judge, denied EMI's request for the claim to be thrown out.

The lawsuit, filed in December, claims EMI and affiliate Capitol wrongly classified copies of Beatles recordings as destroyed or damaged "scrap", but then secretly sold them.

It also alleges that the number of units sold was under-reported and the firms classified some recordings as "promotional" - and therefore non-royalty bearing - but then sold them on.

In addition to the $25m, the plaintiffs want unspecified punitive damages to be decided at trial.

They claim the lawsuit was triggered by an audit of the two companies' books from 1994 to 1999, which uncovered allegedly deceitful behaviour.

The dispute between the Beatles and EMI and Capitol dates back to 1979, when the band alleged they had been underpaid by more than $20m. That case was settled 10 years later, with the band and Apple getting increased royalty rates.

In the current case, EMI and Capitol had argued that the plaintiffs had failed to give enough detail of the circumstances of the allegations or state a cause of action. In court papers, they said the fraud claim was an attempt to "dress up a contract claim".

The Beatles' lawyer, Paul LiCalsi, said: "We are delighted to have the opportunity to pursue this claim for the return of the Beatles' master recordings."

The suit is one of a number of legal battles that have been fought by band members and their families.

In a high court case earlier this year, Apple Corps accused Apple Computer of breaching a trademark agreement by selling music online via its iTunes service. A dispute between the two companies over the brand name and fruit logo has rumbled on for 25 years.