Revealed: The 178 Beatles songs Paul McCartney is reclaiming from Sony/ATV

Sir Paul McCartney is in the process of reclaiming US publishing rights for a huge chunk of The Beatles’ catalogue from Sony/ATV.

The U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 stipulates that writers of pre-1978 tracks can reclaim their US publishing rights – if they’ve previously signed them away – after 56 years.

That means the publishing rights for McCartney’s share of Beatles songs will begin expiring in 2018 – 56 years after the Fab Four’s first hit, Love Me Do, was penned and recorded in 1962.

Following a Billboard report on Friday (March 18), MBW has trawled the US Copyright Office’s records and discovered that McCartney filed termination notices last year for two batches of Fab Four tracks – ‘All You Need Is Love & 23 Other Titles’, in addition to ‘All Together Now & 32 Other Titles’.

Between them, these filings included hits ranging from Back In The USSR to Helter Skelter, Hey Jude, I Will, Revolution, Yellow Submarine, Get Back and Because. They will expire in 2024 and 2025.

But the story doesn’t stop there.

MBW has also dug through McCartney’s historical records with the US Copyright Office and discovered that the star has actually filed to terminate Sony/ATV’s US publishing rights to more than 170 Beatles songs in total.

McCartney’s first filing for copyright termination came in October 2008, when he filed for Love Me Do – the US publishing rights for which expire on October 5, 2018.

Since then, McCartney has filed a number of additional termination requests for his US publishing share, including a single batch containing no less than 40 compositions in December 2010.

Below, you can see these filings in full (they include a number of repetitions, composition-wise, for variants on the copyright).

The publisher’s share of John Lennon’s contribution to those early Beatles 1962 songs first became eligible for reversion in 1990 following his death ten years earlier.

Sony is this month spending $750m to fully acquire the ATV catalogue first purchased by Michael Jackson for $41.5m in 1985.

Interestingly, this huge set of songs contains worldwide publishing rights to The Beatles songs.

Although Sony/ATV is now set to lose a chunk of these rights to McCartney over the next ten years, it is understood that the publisher will hold on to the rights outside of the US market.

Paul McCartney’s owned copyrights are managed by his own MPL Communications, which in turn is an administration client of Kobalt.

According to Companies House filings McCartney is a minority shareholder in Kobalt Music Group.


Filing: Ballad of John & Yoko & 32 other titles – December 14, 2015 (21 separate compositions referenced) [UPDATE: Please note the first two copyrights here are listed as expiring in 2015, but this is likely to be an error in the filing – the rest all expire in 2025.]
  • 001    Ballad of John & Yoko / Reg. EFO135746 (1969); Termination Effective: 5Jun15.
  • 002    Because / Reg. EU147722 (1969); Termination Effective: 15Oct15.
  • 003    Because / Reg. EU138427 (1969); Termination Effective: 21Oct25.
  • 004    Carry that weight / Reg. EU147729 (1969); Termination Effective: 15Oct25.
  • 005    Carry that weight / Reg. EFO138009 (1969); Termination Effective: 17Oct25.
  • 006    Come and get it / Reg. EU152944 (1969); Termination Effective: 5Dec25.
  • 007    Come and get it / Reg. EFO139197 (1969); Termination Effective: 5Dec25.
  • 008    Come together / Reg. EFO138012 (1969); Termination Effective: 2Oct25.
  • 009    Don’t let me down / Reg. EFO134950 (1969); Termination Effective: 23Apr25.
  • 010    The end / Reg. EU147730 (1969); Termination Effective: 15Oct25.
  • 011    The end / Reg. EFO138010 (1969); Termination Effective: 17Oct25.
  • 012    Get back / Reg. EFO134591 (1969); Termination Effective: 18Apr25.
  • 013    Golden slumbers / Reg. EFO138014 (1969); Termination Effective: 14Oct25.
  • 014    Golden slumbers / Reg. EU147726 (1969); Termination Effective: 15Oct25.
  • 015    Goodbye / Reg. EFO134032 (1969); Termination Effective: 27Mar25.
  • 016    Her majesty / Reg. EFO138022 (1969); Termination Effective: 14Oct25.
  • 017    Her majesty / Reg. EU147728 (1969); Termination Effective: 15Oct25.
  • 018    I want you (she’s so heavy) / Reg. EFO138013 (1969); Termination Effective: 13Oct25.
  • 019    I want you (she’s so heavy) / Reg. EU147720 (1969); Termination Effective: 15Oct25.
  • 020    Maxwell’s silver hammer / Reg. EFO138011 (1969); Termination Effective: 7Oct25.
  • 021    Mean Mr. Mustard / Reg. EFO138650 (1969); Termination Effective: 29Oct25.
  • 022    Oh, darling / Reg. EU147721 (1969); Termination Effective: 15Oct25.
  • 023    Oh, darling! / Reg. EFO138023 (1969); Termination Effective: 13Oct25.
  • 024    Polythene Pam / Reg. EU147727 (1969); Termination Effective: 15Oct25.
  • 025    Polythene Pam / Reg. EFO138428 (1969); Termination Effective: 21oct25.
  • 026    She came in through the bathroom window / Reg. EFO138021 (1969); Termination Effective: 14Oct25.
  • 027    She came in through the bathroom window / Reg. EU147723 (1969); Termination Effective: 15Oct25.
  • 028    Sun king / Reg. EU147724 (1969); Termination Effective: 15Oct25.
  • 029    Sun king / Reg. EFO138426 (1969); Termination Effective: 21Oct25.
  • 030    Why don’t we do it in the road? / Reg. EU123034 (1969); Termination Effective: 17Jun25.
  • 031    Wild honey pie / Reg. EU118230 (1969); Termination Effective: 10Jun25.
  • 032    You never give me your money / Reg. EU147725 (1969); Termination Effective: 15Oct25.
  • 033    You never give me your money / Reg. EFO138127 (1969); Termination Effective: 23Oct25.

Filing – All Together Now & 32 Other Titles – January 5, 2015 (30 separate compositions referenced)
  • 001    All together now. EFO132348 (1968) Termination effective 13Aug24.
  • 002    Back in the USSR. EFO132183 (1968) Termination effective 29Nov24.
  • 003    Birthday. EFO132195 (1968) Termination effective 09Dec24.
  • 004    Blackbird. EFO132409 (1968) Termination effective 18Dec24.
  • 005    Continuing story of bungalow bill. EFO132187 Termination effective 29Nov24.
  • 006    Cry baby. EFO132184 (1968) Termination effective 29Nov24.
  • 007    Dear Prudence. EFO132181 (1968) Termination effective 25Nov24.
  • 008    Everybodys got something to hide except me and my monkey. EFO132176 (1968) Termination effective 04Dec24.
  • 009    Flying. EFO126065 (1968) Termination effective 01Jan24.
  • 010    Glass onion. EFO132182 (1968) Termination effective 25Nov24.
  • 011    Good night. EFO132180 (1968) Termination effective 25Nov24.
  • 012    Happiness is a warm gun. EFO132185 (1968) Termination effective 29Nov24.
  • 013    Helter skelter. EFO132178 (1968) Termination effective 04Nov24.
  • 014    Hey bulldog. EFO132349 (1968) Termination effective 13Aug24.
  • 015    Hey Jude. EFO130571 (1968) Termination effective 30Aug24.
  • 016    Hey Jude. EFO71915 (1968) Termination effective 03Sep24.
  • 017    Honey pie. EFO132186 (1968) Termination effective 29Nov24.
  • 018    I will. EFO132407 (1968) Termination effective 18Dec24.
  • 019    I’m so tired. EFO132406 (1968) Termination effective 19Dec24.
  • 020    Julia. EFO132194 (1968) Termination effective 09Dec24.
  • 021    Lady Madonna. EFO127498 (1968) Termination effective 06Mar24.
  • 022    Martha my dear. EFO132177 (1968) Termination effective 04Dec24.
  • 023    Mother natures son. EFO132175 (1968) Termination effective 04Dec24.
  • 024    Ob la di ob la da. EFO132179 (1968) Termination effective 25Nov24.
  • 025    Revolution. EFO132184 (1968) Termination effective 29Nov24.
  • 026    Revolution. EFO130590 (1968) Termination effective 04Sep24.
  • 027    Rocky raccoon. EFO132408 (1968) Termination effective 18Dec24.
  • 028    Sexy Sadie. EFO132193 (1968) Termination effective 09Dec24.
  • 029    Step inside love. EFO127500 (1968) Termination effective 15Mar24.
  • 030    Step inside love. EFO129289 (1968) Termination effective 15Mar24.
  • 031    Thingumyob. EFO130589 (1968) Termination effective 20Aug24.
  • 032    Yellow submarine. EFO132348 (1968) Termination effective 13Aug24.
  • 033    Yer blues. EFO132192 (1968) Termination effective 06Dec24.

Filing: All you need is love & 23 other titles – December 26, 2013 (21 separate compositions referenced)
  • 001    All you need is love / EFO122819 (1967) Termination effective 5Jul23.
  • 002    Baby you’re a rich man / EFO123039 (1967) Termination effective 5Jul23.
  • 003    Being for the benefit of Mr. Kite / EFO121846 (1967) Termination effective 30May23.
  • 004    Catcall / EFO32369 (1967) Termination effective 30Oct23.
  • 005    Day in the life / EFO121838 (1967) Termination effective 30May23.
  • 006    Fixing a hole / EFO121844 (1967) Termination effective 30May23.
  • 007    Fool on the hill. EU28889 (1967) Termination effective 8Dec23.
  • 008    Fool on the hill. EFO125935 (1967) Termination effective 20Dec23.
  • 009    Getting better / EFO121839 (1967) Termination effective 30May23.
  • 010    Good morning, good morning / EFO121843 (1967) Termination effective 30May23.
  • 011    Hello goodbye / EFO125247 (1967) Termination effective 20Nov23.
  • 012    I am the walrus / EFO125663 (1967) Termination effective 29Nov23.
  • 013    Lovely Rita / EFO121845 (1967) Termination effective 30May23.
  • 014    Lucy in the sky with diamonds / EFO121847 (1967) Termination effective 30May23.
  • 015    Magical mystery tour. EUO28887 (1967) Termination effective 8Dec23.
  • 016    Magical mystery tour/ EFO125932 (1967) Termination effective 15Dec23.
  • 017    Penny Lane / EFO119136 (1967) Termination effective 16Feb23.
  • 018    Sgt. Pepper’s lonely hearts club band / EFO121837 (1967) Termination effective 30May23.
  • 019    She’s leaving home / EFO121841 (1967) Termination effective 30May23.
  • 020    Stawberry fields forever / EFO119138 (1967) Termination effective 16Feb23.
  • 021    When I’m sixty-four / EFO121840 (1967) Termination effective 30May23.
  • 022    With a little help from my friends / EFO121842 (1967) Termination effective 30May23.
  • 023    Your mother should know / EFO28890 (1967) Termination effective 8Dec23.
  • 024    Your mother should know / EFO125933 (1967) Termination effective 15Dec23.

Filing – And Your Bird Can Sing & 24 other titles – December 28, 2012 (17 separate compositions referenced)
  • 001    And your bird can sing. EU94168 (1966) Termination effective 9Jun22.
  • 002    And your bird can sing / EFO115518 (1966) Termination effective 2Aug22.
  • 003    Dr. Robert : a.k.a. Doctor Robert. EU941267 (1966) Termination effective 9Jun22.
  • 004    Dr. Robert : a.k.a. Doctor Robert / EFO115505 (1966) (1966) Termination effective 4Aug22.
  • 005    Eleanor Rigby / EFO115432 (1966) Termination effective 1Aug22.
  • 006    Family way / EFO118375 (1966) Termination effective 22Dec22.
  • 007    For no one / EFO115506 (1966) Termination effective 5Aug22.
  • 008    Good day sunshine / EFO115517 (1966) Termination effective 2Aug22.
  • 009    Got to get you into my life / EFO115690 (1966) Termination effective 9Aug22.
  • 010    Here, there and everywhere / EFO115516 (1966) Termination effective 2Aug22.
  • 011    I’m only sleeping. EU941264 (1966) Termination effective 9Jun22.
  • 012    I’m only sleeping / EFO115519 (1966) Termination effective 2Aug22.
  • 013    Love in the open air / EFO118374 (1966) Termination effective 22Dec22.
  • 014    Michelle. EU937014 (1966) Termination effective 5May22.
  • 015    Paper-back writer. EU941266 (1966) Termination effective 7Jun22.
  • 016    Paperback writer / EFO114981 (1966) Termination effective 6Jun22.
  • 017    Rain / EFO114982 (1966) Termination effective 7Jun22.
  • 018    Rain. EU941265 (1966) Termination effective 7Jun22.
  • 019    She said she said / EFO11504 (1966) Termination effective 4Aug22.
  • 020    Tomorrow never knows / EFO115689 (1966) Termination effective 10Aug22.
  • 021    Woman. EU922868 (1966) Termination effective 1Feb22.
  • 022    Woman / EFO112089 (1966) Termination effective 10Feb22.
  • 023    Yellow submarine / EFO115431 (1966) Termination effective 1Aug22.

Filing: Another Girl & 36 Other Titles – December 27, 2011 (29 separate compositions referenced)
  • 001    Another girl. EU888893 (1965) Termination effective 29Jun21.
  • 002    Another girl / EFO108503 (1965) Termination effective 16Jul21.
  • 003    Auntie gin theme. EU897898 (1965) Termination effective 11Aug21.
  • 004    Day tripper / EFO111026 (1965) Termination effective 29Nov21.
  • 005    Drive my car. EFP111336 (1965) Termination effective 7Dec21.
  • 006    Girl. EFP11762 (1965) Termination effective 20Dec21.
  • 007    Help. EU888892 (1965) Termination effective 29Jun21.
  • 008    Help / EFO108505 (1965) Termination effective 14Jul21.
  • 009    I’m down. EU894008 (1965) Termination effective 19Jul21.
  • 010    I’m looking through you / EFO111394 (1965) Termination effective 16Dec21.
  • 011    I’ve just seen a face / EFO108810 (1965) Termination effective 21Jul21.
  • 012    In my life / EFO111028 (1965) Termination effective 7Dec21.
  • 013    It’s only love / EFO108811.
  • 014    Michelle / EFO111398 (1965) Termination effective 16Dec11.
  • 015    The night before. EU888894 (1965) Termination effective 29Jun21.
  • 016    The night before / EFO108898 (1965) Termination effective 28Jul21.
  • 017    Norwegian wood (this bird has flown) / EFO111817 (1965) Termination effective 2Dec21.
  • 018    Nowhere man / EFO111816 (1965) Termination effective 3Dec21.
  • 019    Run for your life / EFO111396 (1965) Termination effective 16Dec21.
  • 020    Scrambled egg. EU897896 (1965) Termination effective 11Aug21.
  • 021    Tell me what you see. EU893229 (1965) Termination effective 12Jul21.
  • 022    Tell me what you see / EFO108504 (1965) Termination effective 14Jul21.
  • 023    That means a lot. EU893218 (1965) Termination effective 12Oct21.
  • 024    That’s a nice hat : that’s a nice cap. EU897897 (1965) Termination effective 11Aug21.
  • 025    Ticket to ride / EFO106878 (1965) Termination effective 7Apr21.
  • 026    Wait / EFO1113932 (1965) Termination effective 16Dec21.
  • 027    We can work it out. / EFO111764 (1965) Termination effective 2Dec21.
  • 028    What goes on / EFO112293 (1965) Termination effective 20Dec21.
  • 029    The word / EFO111399 (1965) Termination effective 13Dec21.
  • 030    Yes, it is / EFO106875 (1965) Termination effective 7Apr21.
  • 031    Yesterday. EF30816 (1965) Termination effective 21Jul21.
  • 032    Yesterday / EFO108812 (1965) Termination effective 21Jul21.
  • 033    You won’t see me / EFO111761 (1965) Termination effective 20Dec21.
  • 034    You’re going to lose that girl. EU888897 (1965) Termination effective 29Jun21.
  • 035    You’re going to lose that girl / EFO108900 (1965) Termination effective 28Jul21.
  • 036    You’ve got to hide your love away. EU888896 (1965) Termination effective 29Jun21.
  • 037    You’ve got to hide your love away / EFO10899 (1965) Termination effective 28Jul21.

filing: All I’ve Got To Do & 62 Other Titles – December 17, 2010 (40 separate compositions referenced)
  • 001    All I’ve got to do. EP189314 (1964) Termination effective 1Apr20.
  • 002    All I’ve got to do. EP193066 (1964) Termination effective 17Aug20.
  • 003    All my loving. EP190042 (1964) Termination effective 1Apr20.
  • 004    All my loving. EP193065 (1964) Termination effective 17Aug20.
  • 005    And I love her. EF294400 (1964) Termination effective 14Jul20.
  • 006    Anytime at all. EF29401 (1964) Termination effective 17Jul20.
  • 007    Baby’s in black. EU857246 (1964) Termination effective 20Nov20.
  • 008    Baby’s in black / EFO104702 (1964) Termination effective 11Dec20.
  • 009    Can’t buy me love. EF28945 (1964) Termination effective 10Mar20.
  • 010    Can’t buy me love. EP193067 (1964) Termination effective 17Aug20.
  • 011    Eight days a week. EU857250 (1964) Termination effective 20Nov20.
  • 012    Eight days a week / EFO104701 (1964) Termination effective 11Dec20.
  • 013    Every little thing. EU857249 (1964) Termination effective 20Nov20.
  • 014    Every little thing / EFO104704 (1964) Termination effective 11Dec20.
  • 015    Follow the sun : a.k.a. I’ll follow the sun. EU857248 (1964) Termination effective 20Nov20.
  • 016    From a window. EF29404 (1964) Termination effective 15Jul20.
  • 017    A hard days’s night. EF29204 (1964) Termination effective 25Jun20.
  • 018    A hard day’s night. EP193064 (1964) Termination effective 17Aug20.
  • 019    Hold me tight. EP189320 (1964) Termination effective 1Apr20.
  • 020    Hold me tight. EP193069 (1964) Termination effective 17Aug20.
  • 021    I don’t want to see you again / EFO103394 (1964) Termination effective 18Sep20.
  • 022    I don’t want to spoil the party. EU857251 (1964) Termination effective 20Nov20.
  • 023    I don’t want to spoil the party / EFO104703 (1964) Termination effective 11Dec20.
  • 024    I feel fine. EU857245 (1964) Termination effective 20Nov20.
  • 025    I feel fine / EFO104055 (1964) Termination effective 27Nov20.
  • 026    I should have known better. EF29396 (1964) Termination effective 17Jul20.
  • 027    I’ll be back. EF29402 (1964) Termination effective 17Jul20.
  • 028    I’ll cry instead. EF29403 (1964) Termination effective 17Jul20.
  • 029    I’ll follow the sun / EFO104699 (1964) Termination effective 11Dec20.
  • 030    I’ll get you. EP193070 (1964) Termination effective 17Aug20.
  • 031    I’m a loser. EU853541 (1964) Termination effective 28Oct20.
  • 032    I’m a loser / EFO105073 (1964) Termination effective 21Dec20.
  • 033    I’m happy just to dance with you. EF29398 (1964) 17Jul20.
  • 034    If I fell. EF29397 (1964) Termination effective 17Jul20.
  • 035    It won’t be long. EP189318 (1964) Termination effective 1Apr20.
  • 036    It won’t be long. EP193071 (1964) Termination effective 17Aug20.
  • 037    It’s for you. EU836509 (1964) Termination effective 20Jul20.
  • 038    It’s for you. EF29407 (1964) Termination effective 29Jul20.
  • 039    Like dreamers do. EF29102 (1964) Termination effective 11Jun20.
  • 040    Little child. EP189316 (1964) Termination effective 1Apr20.
  • 041    Little child. EP193072 (1964) Termination effective 17Aug20.
  • 042    No reply. EU857247 (1964) Termination effective 20Nov20.
  • 043    No reply/ EFO104700 (1964) Termination effective 11Dec20.
  • 044    Nobody I know. EF29490 (1964) Termination effective 11Jun20.
  • 045    Not a second time. EP188317 (1964) Termination effective 1Apr20.
  • 046    Not a second time. EP193073 (1964) Termination effective 17Aug20.
  • 047    One and one is two. EF29098 (1964) Termination effective 26May20.
  • 048    Ringo’s theme (this boy) EF29264 (1964) Termination effective 24Jul20.
  • 049    She’s a woman. EU857244 (1964) Termination effective 20Nov20.
  • 050    She’s a woman / EFO104248 (1964) Termination effective 30Nov20.
  • 051    Tell me why. EF29399 (1964) Termination effective 10Jul20.
  • 052    Things we said today. EF29250 (1964) Termination effective 7Jul20.
  • 053    This boy. EP189315 (1964) Termination effective 1Apr20.
  • 054    This boy. EP193074 (1964) Termination effective 17Aug20.
  • 055    What you’re doing. EU857252 (1964) Termination effective 20Nov20.
  • 056    What you’re doing / EFO104539 (1964) Termination effective 8Dec20.
  • 057    When I get home. EF29395 (1964) Termination effective 20Jul20.
  • 058    World without love. EF28963 (1964) Termination effective 5Mar20.
  • 059    World without love. EP189313 (1964) Termination effective 1Apr20.
  • 060    You can’t do that. EF28961 (1964) Termination effective 6Mar20.
  • 061    You can’t do that. EP189311 (1964) Termination effective 1Apr20.
  • 062    You can’t do that. EP193075 (1964) Termination effective 17Aug20.

filing: From Me To You & 12 Other Titles – August 12, 2010 (6 separate compositions referenced)
  • 001    From me to you / EFO-29918 (1963) Termination effective 16Apr19.
  • 002    I saw her standing there. EF28543 (1963) Termination effective 9May19.
  • 003    I wanna be your man / EFO-96247 (1963) Termination effective 11Nov19.
  • 004    I wanna be your man. EU808235 (1964) Termination effective 7Jan20.
  • 005    I wanna be your man. EP187785 (1964) Termination effective 7Apr20.
  • 006    Misery / EFO-9146 (1963) Termination effective 27Mar19.
  • 007    Misery. EU793744 (1963) Termination effective 20Sep19.
  •     008    Misery. EP187784 (1964) Termination effective 7Aug20.
  •     009    She loves you / EFO-94632 (1963) Termination effective 9Aug19.
  •     010    She loves you. EP185275 (1964) Termination effective 12Feb20.
  •     011    She loves you. EP185352 (1964) Termination effective 11Mar20.
  •     012    There’s a place. EU808205 (1964) Termination effective 15Jan20.
  •     013    There’s a place. EP187783 (1964) Termination effective 7Apr20.

filing: Bad To Me & 9 Other Titles – November 30, 2009 (10 separate compositions referenced)
  • 001    Bad to me. PA 568-663 (1963) Termination effective 18Nov19.
  • 002    Do you want to know a secret? / EFO 92297 (1963) Termination effective 26Apr19.
  • 003    Hello, little girl / EFO 95128 (1963) Termination effective 23Aug19.
  • 004    I call your name / EFO 95799 (1963) Termination effective 26Jul19.
  • 005    I’ll be on my way. PA 568-656 (1963) Termination effective 30Jun19.
  • 006    I’ll get you / EFO 94631 (1963) Termination effective 9Aug19.
  • 007    I’ll keep you satisfied. PA 568-662 (1963) Termination effective 18Nov19.
  • 008    I’m in love. EF29714 (1963) Termination effective 18Nov19.
  •  009    Love of the loved / EFO-95513 (1963) Termination effective 4Oct19.
  •  010    Tip of my tongue. EFO 94569 (1963) Termination effective 8Aug19.

Other filings / tracks (4 separate compositions referenced)
  • I Want To Hold Your Hand (Songs Of Universal & Sony/ATV named). Filed: November 30, 2009). Copyright: 1963. Termination effective: 20 Nov 19.
  • P.S. I love you. (Beechwood Music & Sony/ATV named). Filed: December 3, 2009. Copyright: 1963. Termination effective: 26 Nov 19.
  • Thank you girl. (Conrad Music & Sony/ATV named). Filed: August 7, 2009. Copyright: 1963. Termination effective 2 Aug 19.
  • Love me do (Beechwood Music named). Filed: October 15 2008. Copyright: 1962. Termination effective 5 Oct 18.

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