Bob Dylan wins lawsuit filed by late co-writer’s estate

Musician’s lawyer called lawsuit a ‘sad attempt to unfairly profit’ from recent catalogue sale

Bob Dylan has won a judgement in the lawsuit filed by the estate of his late songwriting partner Jacques Levy, which claimed ownership over 35 per cent of the songs they wrote together.

Levy co-write songs from Dylan’s 1976 album Desire, including the tracks “Isis” and “Hurricane”. His estate was seeking $7.25m (£5.3). When the lawsuit was filed in January this year, Dylan’s lawyer called it a “sad attempt to unfairly profit off the recent catalogue sale”.

The previous month, Dylan had sold the music publishing rights of his entire songwriting catalogue to Universal Music Publishing in a deal worth a reported $300m (£216m).

Pitchfork reports that Judge Barry Ostrager of New York’s Supreme Court has now ruled that the agreement signed between Dylan and Levy in 1975 made it clear Levy did not have ownership of the material.

Dylan’s lawyer said the musician and his team were “pleased” by the decision.

The 80-year-old has been particularly active over the past two years. He recently announced the 16th volume of his Bootleg Series, Springtime in New York, which will focus on his work from 1980-1985.

Earlier this month, he shared a livestreamed concert, Shadow Kingdom: The Early Songs of Bob Dylan, with fans. You can read The Independent’s review here.