Victor Willis, of the band Village People is facing a court battle to regain the rights to some of the disco group's hits.
Victor Willis, of the band Village People is facing a court battle to regain the rights to some of the disco group's hits.
The singer/songwriter who took the traffic policeman character role in the band, left the line-up in 1979.
He sought legal action earlier in the year to claim back ownership of tracks including YMCA under US copyright provision which will be activated after 35 years.
But executives at France-based producer and its American affiliate are fighting the law suit, claiming Willis is not entitled to the rights as he was not employed as a 'writer for hire' and 'therefore has no rights' to any ownership of the songs.
The defendants' lawyer, Stewart L. Levy tells the New York Times: "This is totally different and outside the scope of these termination rights issues.
"The Village People were a concept group, created by my clients, who picked the people and the costumes... We hired this guy. He was an employee, we gave them the material and a studio to record in and controlled what was recorded, where, what hours and what they did."
Willis has not performed with the Village People since 1984.