Cher Demands $1M in Legal Fees From Mary Bono After Resounding Copyright Win

Photo Credit: Bowen Yang and Cher on Saturday Night Live (NBC)

Cher asks a judge to force Sonny Bono’s widow to cover her $1 million legal fees after the legendary singer’s resounding win in her copyright battle.

After winning her legal battle with Sonny Bono’s widow Mary, Cher is now asking a federal judge to put Mary on the hook for her $1 million legal fees, since she “dragged this case out for five years by taking patently unreasonable positions.” Cher’s lawyers claim Mary Bono attempted to “misuse” the termination provisions of the Copyright Act to illegally “obtain a windfall” at Cher’s expense.

Back in 2024, U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt said Mary Bono was out of line to try to use the Copyright Act to reclaim the 50% share of her late husband’s composition royalties, which he granted to Cher in their 1978 divorce agreement. When making the ruling last year, Judge Kronstadt said that the California contract laws governing the divorce overruled the termination power of the federal Copyright Act.

Sonny assigned a 50% share of his composition royalties in the divorce settlement for songs including “I Got You Babe” and “The Beat Goes On.” She also got a 50% share of the musical recordings the pair made together. But in her court filings, Cher and her legal team argued that Mary covertly rerouted Cher’s royalties to herself and Sonny’s other heirs through the termination provisions of the Copyright Act to regain grants Sonny had made to music publishers for his other compositions.

Cher’s latest motion says that in order to defeat Mary’s “improper attempt” at termination, she was forced to cough up $1,023,605.50 in legal fees. Previously, Mary Bono’s lawyers asked the judge that neither party be allowed to recover legal costs. Bono’s legal team is also in the process of appealing Judge Kronstadt’s ruling.

Notably, in a separate case, Judge Kronstadt denied a request to award attorney fees to Marvin Gaye’s estate after a jury found Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ “Blurred Lines” infringed on Gaye’s copyright for the 1977 song “Got to Give It Up.” It’s therefore uncertain whether he will agree to award Cher her attorney’s fees, despite there being a legal precedent for her to seek them. A hearing on Cher’s request is scheduled for February 23.

Link to the source article – https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2026/01/13/cher-mary-bono-legal-fees/