A court of appeal ordered Roger Hodgson, the former singer of Supertramp, to share the copyright of his songs with the other members of the group.
The decision puts an end to a legal battle of several years between Roger Hodgson and the bass player of Supertramp Dougie Thomson, saxophonist John Helliwell and drummer Bob Siebenberg.
The dispute arises from the decision taken by Roger Hodgson in 2018 to no longer share the publishing rights of Supertramp with its partners.
The group’s catalog includes the album Breakfast in America, which has risen to the top of the Hit-Parades in 1979, as well as the albums Crime of the Century, Crisis? Even in the Quietest Moments, Paris and Famous Last Words.
The British singer-songwriter had won the trial in 2024, when a jury in Los Angeles said it was reasonable for him to end the 1977 Supertramp income sharing agreement after more than forty years.
But the new decision erases this verdict, believing that the case should never have been brought before a jury.
Dougie Thomson, John Helliwell and Bob Siebenberg will therefore start to receive the copyright of Roger Hodgson, a decision hailed by their lawyers.
“We are extremely satisfied that by reversing the manifest error of the court of first instance, the court of appeal of the ninth circuit has preserved the legacy of our customers for themselves and their heirs, while reaffirming the good sense of Californian law which will continue to go on affairs similar in the future,” said the Lawyer team in Billboard.