LONDON — British music publisher Novello & Co. Ltd. has lost its challenge to a High Court ruling that the company does not own the U.K. copyrights to 44 works of the late British composer Richard Addinsell.
An appellate court upheld the April 2004 ruling that rejected London-based Novello’s claim of ownership, which was based on a 2000 written assignment from the trustees of Addinsell’s will. The composer died in November 1977.
The decision leaves intact the claim of Keith Prowse Music Publishing Co. Ltd. (KPMP) that it owns the pre-1958 compositions — administered by EMI Music Publishing Ltd. — by virtue of a 1973 assignment from the composer. KPMP asserted that this assignment also transferred the reversionary interests in the works to the company after Addinsell died.
Among the compositions at issue were “Warsaw Concerto” from the film “Dangerous Moonlight” and musical adaptations of Lewis Carroll’s works, such as “Alice in Wonderland” and “Jabberwocky Song.”