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Whiter Shade of Pale organist wins copyright battle
Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher has won his long legal battle to be recognised as co-writer of the band's hit Whiter Shade of Pale, BBC News reports.Whiter Shade of Pale was a number one in…
Lawyers Weekly
Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher has won his long legal battle to be recognised as co-writer of the band's hit Whiter Shade of Pale, BBC News reports.
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Whiter Shade of Pale was a number one in the UK for six weeks in 1967 and reached number five in the US.
Fisher, who wrote the song's original organ melody, pursued his share of future royalties 38 years after the song became a hit.
In 2006, the British High Court ruled he was entitled to 40 per cent of the copyright. But the Court Of Appeal overturned the ruling last year, reverting the copyright back to Procol Harum frontman Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid.
On Thursday, the panel of five Law Lords delivered their unanimous ruling which reinstated the 2006 High Court verdict.
The triumphant Fisher said the case "was never about money". "There will not be a lot of that anyway," he said.
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