The Chipmunks Current Controller sue EMI

The Chipmunks sue EMI

Well, actually, no squirrels, but the current controller of all that Alvin, Simon and Theodore, Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., son of the man who created the characters in the fifties.

Bagdasarian has filed a lawsuit against EMI in the U.S. District Court for breach of contract and copyright violation, saying the company infringed 24 of its songs. He is seeking statutory damages up to $ 150,000 for a potential total of $ 3.6 million. This is based on the terms of the license with EMI which forces them to pay nine cents per copy of each composition, sold or not (ie, if the press are going to pay.)

This is not the first lawsuit filed recently by Bagdasarian against an entertainment conglomerate. In 2009, sued 20th Century Fox for half of the proceeds from Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, a film that grossed more than $ 200 million.

Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. created the rodents to sing in the 50's, by the acceleration of his own singing voice. Then he called himself David Seville and had great success with The Chipmunk Song (1958 / # 1), Alvin's Harmonica (1959 / # 3), Ragtime Cowboy Joe (1959 / # 16). The franchise eventually become a television series and blockbuster movies.