Country singer Loretta Lynn is trying to gain the copyright to "Coal Miner's Daughter" and other hit songs of hers.
In a lawsuit filed this week in Chancery Court, Lynn asks a judge to void a contract she signed with Sure-Fire Music Co. in 1966 awarding the company copyrights to her songs. The complaint says the company's ownership changes should give Lynn the rights to the music.
The company has the rights to 114 songs written or co-written by Lynn, including "You're Lookin' at Country," "You Ain't Woman Enough" and the 1969 tune that became her signature song, "Coal Miner's Daughter."
Sure-Fire was owned in 1966 by Teddy and Doyle Wilburn, who as the Wilburn Brothers were one of the most celebrated brother duos in country music. Both are now dead, and Teddy Wilburn's estate is the subject of a family fight in Probate Court in Nashville, Tenn.
Lynn contends that her contract with Sure-Fire gave her the right to terminate the agreement if ownership of the company changed hands.
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