The Legendary Bob Marley’s classic single “War” has sparked a nasty copyright fight amongst several parties.
Marley’s former manager Allan Cole is suing Universal Music, Island Records, and Tuff Gong claiming that he is the co-writer for both singles “War” and “Natty Dread” but has yet to receive payment for royalties since the 1970s , he also claims that he recently discoverd that he does not own the copyright for any of the aforementioned singles.
Cole hired an attorney in May to transfer a substantial amount of his interest in “War” to the family of the late Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie however when his lawyer sought to do so he learnt that Tuff Gong actually owns the copyright to the single.
In the suit filed against all three record labels, Cole wants a judge to demand that they provide accounting records for earnings of the singles in question and to declare that the labels infringed upon his copyright therefore owing him royalty fees.
