After a long legal battle, a federal court has granted its verdict in favor of Cher, Sonny Bono’s ex-wife. Cher has long been in a legal dispute with the widow of her former husband over royalties.
Cherilyn Sarkisian, commonly known as Cher, 78 years old, is an American singer and actress. She entered the limelight in 1965 as one of the duo in Sonny & Cher, a rock band she started with her ex-husband. Subsequently, in 1975 she and Sonny divorced, with a settlement agreement that was finalized in 1978.
According to the agreement, Cher was given a 50% ownership right to all the songs the Sonny & Cher band made. However, when Sonny passed away in 1998, a new agreement was reached between Cher and his estate.
After their divorce, Sonny remarried in 1986 to Mary Bono with whom he had three children. However, despite the agreement, Mary had decided she was not required to pay Cher any royalty. In 2016, Mary referenced the termination rights section under the Copyright Act.
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She had intended to use the provision to reclaim the publishing rights to the duo’s catalog, 35 years after the original agreement was made. Consequently, this resulted in a legal dispute that culminated in 2021 when Cher filed a lawsuit. According to the court documents, Cher was claiming her total compensation for the total 50% as per the 1978 agreement.
Mary had countered the lawsuit, stating that federal law supersedes any personal agreement and as such could not be waived. However, this was not agreed upon by Judge John A. Kronstadt who oversaw the trial.
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Kronstadt said that there was a financial obligation to Cher per the divorce agreement. He had clarified that Cher’s royalty right was completely different from a copyright grant, a different he clarified.
Sonny and Cher stayed a duo after their separation and subsequent divorce, earning two Grammy nominations and 40 million career sales worldwide. Subsequently, after their divorce, they took different careers part.
Cher remained in the music industry, establishing a successful solo career that earned her the title of the “Goddess of Pop.” Sonny joined the Republican Party in a career that ended in him getting elected as the mayor of Palm Springs, California, in 1995.
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Sonny remained mayor till his unfortunate demise from a skiing accident in 1998. Cher attended his funeral, giving a moving tribute to him. After their divorce in 1975, Cher remarried that same year, this time to Gregg Allman whom she would later divorce in 1979.
On Wednesday, May 29, 2024, a federal court in the Central District of California rendered a decision in favor of Cher in the continuing legal battle. In February 2024, the judge gave a preliminary verdict upholding Cher’s claim to royalties from Sonny & Cher’s catalog.
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