Who’s Zoomin’ Who?

Aretha Franklin’s publishing company has been sued by a longtime songwriting partner over royalties from her latest album and alleged copyright infringement. Norman West of Lansing, Mich., filed the complaint July 15 against Springtime Publishing – and the Queen of Soul is not pleased.

She issued a statement Aug. 2 saying West has “unmitigated gall” considering how she’s “personally assisted and advised him over the past 15 years.”

West accuses Springtime of “unlawfully, falsely, and fraudulently” claiming an interest in, and refusing to pay royalties for, a 1996 composition called “Watch My Back.” The publisher also failed to countersign an agreement with West for a song called “Put It Back Together Again,” from Franklin’s May release, A Woman Falling Out of Love, according to the suit.

The complaint, filed in Detroit federal court, claims a copyright registration for “Watch My Back” was filed in 1996, as well as for a larger project, Spring Time-West Project: Hits for ’96. West and Springtime made an exclusive five-year publishing agreement for “Watch My Back” that included payment of songwriter royalties.

A second agreement was made in 1999 assigning the royalty payments to West’s company, Hue West – the predecessor to his current company, West Media. He claims Springtime received benefits from its administration of “Watch My Back” and licensed it to third parties, including BMI, but that he has received no money for the song.

West also claims his company entered into a publishing agreement with Springtime for the song “Put It Back Together Again,” which was released on Franklin’s latest album. However, he charges that Springtime failed to provide a countersigned copy of the agreement.