Brian Wilson sued by ex-wife over $50 million song rights deal with Universal
Brian Wilson is involved in a legal battle with his ex-wife Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford over a $50 million deal he signed late last year in relation to his songs catalogue with Universal Music Publishing.According to legal papers, there were two elements to the mega-bucks deal between Wilson and the publisher, which already controlled his songs catalogue (although Wilson and his father originally set up their own publishing business in the early 1960s, that was subsequently sold with the catalogue ultimately ending up with Universal).The first element of the big deal saw Universal acquire the songwriter share of income Wilson retained under his original publishing deal. The second element related to Wilson’s termination right under American copyright law, via which he could seek to reclaim the US rights in his songs.