Birmingham pop group Duran Duran have lost a High Court battle over U.S. rights to songs
Members of Birmingham-based pop group Duran Duran have lost a High Court battle over U.S. rights to some of their most famous songs.
The group had argued that US copyright laws gave them the right to call for a reversion of copyright after 35 years.
Lawyers for Gloucester Place Music Ltd, part of EMI Music Publishing, successfully argued that English laws of contract stopped them from doing so.
Girls on Film, Rio and A View to a Kill were among the disputed tracks.
On Friday, Mr Justice Arnold ruled in Gloucester Place's favour.
Band member Nick Rhodes described the Gloucester Place legal action as: "a cynical attempt to deny us the opportunity offered to all songwriters in the US.
"When we registered a request, in 2014, for the reversion of our eligible copyrights in America, we understood it to be a formality.
"Regrettably, Sony/ATV have decided to challenge our rights under the premise of a contractual technicality in the UK and have elected to take legal action against us."
