A New York state judge has ruled that the co-writer on many of Bob Dylan’s songs on the Desire album is not entitled to any further compensation as the result of Dylan’s sale of his catalog to Universal Music Group.
Claudia C. Levy, the widow of co-writer Jaques Levy, filed suit in January following the sale of Dylan’s catalog to UMG, claiming the estate was owed at least $1.75 million from the sale for the 10 songs on Desire, which I have ranked as Dylan’s third-best album. Levy has collected over $1 million since 1975 for his contributions to the record.
But following arguments in July, Justice Barry R. Ostrager of the New York Supreme Court granted the motion by Dylan and Universal to dismiss the case, writing that a 1975 agreement between Dylan and Levy grants Dylan copyrights to all of the songs they co-wrote together.
“The Court determines that the plain meaning of the 1975 Agreement is that the Dylan Defendants owned all copyrights to the Compositions, as well as the absolute right to sell the Compositions and all associated rights, subject only to plaintiffs’ right to receive the compensation specified in the 1975 Agreement,” Ostrager wrote.