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Judge Sides with Cher in Tentative Ruling That Could End $1 Million Royalties War With Mary Bono

Cher had a good day in court Monday as a judge issued a tentative ruling upholding her 50% stake in composition royalties from Sonny Bono songs

But Judge Kronstadt seemed poised to side with Mary in terms of agreeing with her that the MSA granted Sonny’s heirs the “sole” right to name candidates to administer his composition copyrights and receive an up to 10 percent management fee. He said that if the court sticks to its tentative ruling and decides Cher has a continuing right to composition royalties, she should be limited to the same 50 percent cut of the artist share that she and Sonny split when they signed their agreement. If the judge adopts his tentative ruling as stated, the remaining dispute over the exact royalties owed to Cher for the period before her sale to Iconic could lead to a trial, but most of the money sits in an escrow account, so it’s likely the sides would come to agreement.

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