The EMI Group yesterday said it is "likely" to appeal a decision in the New York courts to allow The Beatles to pursue litigation against them regarding a royalties dispute.
As previously reported, The Beatles claim that EMI's Capitol division has defrauded them out of millions in royalty payments by secretly selling recordings which the band were told were either damaged, lost or used entirely for promotional purposes. They are seeking both compensation, and ownership of their master recordings.
As reported yesterday, EMI had hoped to have the case thrown out of court because, they claim, there is simply too little information about the illegitimate practices that Capitol executives are accused of - with most of the alleged incidents occurring in the early and mid nineties. However a New York court this week said the band's case was strong enough to proceed.
Despite indicating that they are likely to appeal that decision and try again to stop The Beatles' legal proceedings, Billboard quote an EMI spokesman as acknowledging that royalty disputes do sometimes have to go through the courts: "Artists from time to time seek audits on their accounts. We are not unhappy with that and are happy to have full financial transparency. There are sometimes differences of opinion, especially when contracts are so complex and there may be issues of contractual interpretation. In these situations the parties may resort to the courts or mediation".