Soundgarden, Chris Cornell's widow spar over royalties and recordings

It's been a Black Hole Sun couple of months for the members of Soundgarden, who are in a legal fight with the widow of the band's former lead singer, Chris Cornell, who died in 2017. 

Cornell's wife, Vicky, filed suit against the band in December 2019 that her husband's estate was owed "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in royalties for unreleased recordings prior to his death. Now, the band has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

Intellectual property expert and law professor Michael Risch says it's an interesting decision on the band's part. 

"The allegations in the lawsuit are heavily fact-bound, as are the defenses," Risch says. "A motion to dismiss assumes that all the facts in the complaint are true, but the band’s motion asserts that the facts are false."

He says that band members usually always work things out. When you see lawsuits for copyright or other reasons, it's usually always heirs that are involved.

To speak with Risch, click on his headshot above, email mediaexperts@villanova.edu or call 610-519-5152.