<P> Upon his death, Jackson's entertainment attorney, Joel Katz, commented on the singer's work as a businessman . "Michael Jackson was a perfectionist and his business affairs are worldwide . Many of them are quite ongoing and will be dealt with appropriately ." Ivan Thornton, a private - wealth adviser who worked with Jackson and his family, also commended the business side of the musician . "His business mind was fascinating . We'd go to meetings with bankers and Wall Street people and once I explained the language to him, he totally got it . There was no formal education there, but his natural knack was off the charts ." </P> <P> In May 2001, Jackson denied rumours that he was planning to sell the Beatles' song catalogue . Rumours had circulated that the singer was to sell them in order to finance the upkeep of Neverland Ranch and to cover legal bill expenses . The singer announced in a statement, "I want to clarify a silly rumour--The Beatles catalogue is not for sale, has not been for sale and will never be for sale ." </P> <P> Following Jackson's death in June 2009, there were reports that Jackson had left the Beatles catalogue to McCartney in his will, having added it just five months before . (Jackson was reportedly expecting to die before McCartney despite being 16 years his junior due to various health problems .) However, it was later revealed that Sony / ATV Music Publishing would keep control of the Beatles' songs . </P> <P> On 18 January 2017, McCartney filed a suit in United States district court against Sony / ATV Music Publishing seeking to reclaim ownership of his share of the Lennon--McCartney song catalogue beginning in 2018 . Under US copyright law, for works published before 1978 the author can reclaim copyrights assigned to a publisher after 56 years . McCartney and Sony agreed to a confidential settlement in June 2017 . </P>

Who owns the publishing rights to the beatles