Record label bosses at EMI have filed suit against a U.S. website after a string of Beatles tracks appeared online.
The Fab Four's music is currently not licensed for internet downloads. Last year Sir Paul McCartney announced he would like to see the band's songs available on Apple's iTunes store, but admitted negotiations had "stalled".
Executives at EMI, the company that owns the Beatles' recordings, need to agree a deal with the surviving bandmates' Apple Corps company before the catalogue can be made available online.
But bosses filed legal papers to prevent the sale of "unauthorized content" after American website Bluebeat.com allegedly began offering Beatles' tracks - including recent digitally remastered versions - for download at discounted prices.
The copyright violation lawsuit was filed at a Los Angeles court on Tuesday.
Article Copyright World Entertainment News Network 2009 http://www.wenn.com/
Photo(s) Copyright Getty Images 2009.
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