So the swirling rumor of the moment is that our ol' pal Michael Jackson is finally ready to patch things up with his once-pal Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney (remember that "Girl Is Mine" duet? Those were the days! Jacko had a jheri curl and Macca had that sick Uncle Joey Mullet of his).

But how does Jacko plan to make nice with the Beatle he outbid rights to for his own Beatle songs? Jacko has apparently altered his will to give back the rights to the 200 or so hits from the Fab Four's rich catalog when he dies.

Think about that for a moment. That's like saying:
"Hey Paul, don't you worry. We can be pals again... after I die. But until that day when I inevitably croke and don't need to ape money off the music you wrote--Allah knows I need all I can scrounge these days--you're STILL going to have to pay Sony and I royalty $$$ to play 'Hey, Jude' or 'Elenor Rigby.' And I'm still going to get money when someone plays "Let It Be" on the jukebox or radio. But don't you worry, Pauly ol' pal! When I'm gone, you can have what's yours. Hee heeeeeeeeee! Doesn't matter to me after that!

But that's not even the worst of it. If there is truth to this claim, it's just an ignorant--if not arrogant--charade. Few people seem to realize that per copyright law, control of publishing rights over all songs written before 1978 (in which, all Beatles tunes were) revert back to the original author after 50 years of first publish. Thus, come 2012, "Love Me Do" will be Paul and Yoko's again ANYWAY. Meaning, if Jacko is still ticking come that time, this whole "will" thing is absolutely pointless. And those close to him say Jacko is healthy again and looking to jumpstart his music career, so it's not crazy to say he'll outlive the copyright law...unless you're reading the National Enquirer who says his 'days are numbered')

But I'd say the damage is done to Paul already anyway. Sorry, Mike. You can sit with Heather Mills in the sandbox for greedy punks who stole and then cheated Big Macca's heart. Speaking of which; have you SEEN who she's been dating?! Naturally, he's a rich, old codger. Although, turns out he actually SANG in the "LA LA" chorus of "Hey Jude"...so now, let's bring this whole discussion full circle and connect ALL these dots. When Marc Sinden hears the part he sang on "Hey Jude"--a song written predominantly by his gold-diggin' girlfriend's ex-husband (McCartney), Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop (and weird)", gets a cut of royalty money from the publishing rights to that song. Is it just me, or is "Hey, Jude" the central thread that binds this entire world together? No offense to Kevin Bacon.

More of the backstory on this whole fiasco.
An explanation of what owning the publishing rights of The Beatles catalog means.