Cher Moves to Recover $1 Million Legal Tab From Mary Bono Following Copyright Dispute

Cher is moving to recover more than $1 million in legal costs from Mary Bono following a long-running copyright dispute over Sonny Bono's music.

The 79-year-old singer won her case but now wants a federal judge to make Mary, Sonny's widow, pay her attorney's fees.

In court filings, Cher's lawyers argued that Mary Bono tried to "misuse" the termination provisions of the Copyright Act to get an unfair advantage, Yahoo reported.

They claim Mary "dragged this case out for five years by taking patently unreasonable positions" and attempted to "obtain a windfall" at Cher's expense. The legal tab for Cher's victory totaled $1,023,605.50.

The dispute centers on royalties from songs Sonny Bono wrote, including hits like "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On."

When Cher and Sonny divorced in 1978, Cher was granted a 50 percent share of his composition royalties and a 50 percent share of their joint recordings. US District Judge John A.

Kronstadt ruled last year that California contract law protected Cher's share, meaning Mary could not use the Copyright Act to reclaim it.

"Defendant argued, repeatedly and frivolously, that a federal statute that expressly states it does not affect state-law rights somehow extinguishes those state law rights," Cher's motion says. "Cher prevailed completely."

Cher Seeks Attorney Fees as Mary Bono Fights Back

Cher's legal team claims Mary secretly redirected royalties meant for Cher to herself and other heirs.

While Mary's lawyers have not yet commented on the new motion, they previously asked the court to deny legal fees for either side.

Mary's lawyer, Daniel Schacht, said, "We appreciate Judge Kronstadt's efforts in the case but believe he got the law wrong on copyright terminations. It is important that authors and their heirs have the rights that Congress intended." Mary is appealing the ruling on the publishing rights.

According to RollingStone, Cher rose to fame with Sonny Bono in the 1960s as part of the duo Sonny & Cher and later built a solo career that earned her Grammy, Oscar, and Emmy wins.

Sonny died in a skiing accident in 1998, leaving Mary in charge of his estate. Some of Sonny's music publishing grants became eligible for termination starting in 2018, which triggered the legal fight.

Although Cher has the right to request attorney's fees, it is unclear how much Judge Kronstadt will award.

He previously declined a similar request in the Marvin Gaye estate case involving "Blurred Lines." A hearing on Cher's motion is scheduled for February 23.

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