Richard Pryor Sues 2 N.J. Music Companies

Comedian and actor Richard Pryor has sued two New Jersey music companies, alleging they licensed his recorded material without legal authorization. Pryor, one of the most influential comedians of the 1970s, accused San Juan Music Group Ltd.; its president, Michael Chernow; and M.B. Music Inc. of illegally transferring master recordings that he first made in the late 1970s for Laff Records. The lawsuit says Pryor sued Laff in 1984 and won control of the masters in 1987. Laff’s attorney, however, sold some of the master recordings in 1988 for $10,000 to San Juan and M.B., which transferred rights to a company that has since licensed the material to Polygram Records, a unit of Paris-based Vivendi Universal. Filed in federal court in Newark, N.J., the lawsuit asks a federal judge to order the licensing firm M.B. and its agent, San Juan, to stop representing that it has legal rights to the material. It seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from the Parlin, N.J.-based businesses.