LONDON (7 February 2025) The successors to the performers’ rights and sound recording copyrights that were originally owned by bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell will have the ownership and scope of those rights decided at trial in the High Court in London, following the Court of Appeal’s ruling yesterday in *Noel Redding Estate Ltd & Anor v Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd* [2025] EWCA Civ 66

Redding and Mitchell performed with guitar legend Jimi Hendrix as the only other members of “The Jimi Hendrix Experience”, the band that propelled him to fame in the 1960s. They played on the three most famous albums which are now commercially exploited by Sony. Their successors brought a claim against Sony based on performers’ rights and sound recording copyright, seeking recognition of their entitlement and arguing that there has been infringement through unauthorised exploitation, particularly in the modern digital environment.

Following an unsuccessful attempt to stay the claims on grounds of *forum non conveniens* in favour of proceedings in New York (and an unsuccessful appeal therefrom), Sony subsequently sought to prevent the proceedings from going ahead by means of an application for summary judgment/strike-out, which was dismissed by Michael Green J last year. Sony appealed to the Court of Appeal, which yesterday dismissed its appeal.

Giving the leading judgment, Arnold LJ held that Sony could not benefit from the transitional provisions in s180(3) CDPA 1988 or any other transitional provisions since, nor could they argue that the claim was a time-barred partnership claim. The case will now head to trial later this year.

Simon Malynicz K.C., leading Phillip Johnson, instructed by Lawrence Abramson of Keystone Law, acted for the successful Respondents