Ray Charles gave each of his 12 children $500,000 and left the rest to a foundation; seven of them moved to take back his songs

Ray Charles had 12 children by several women^†. Before he died, he gave each child $500,000 in trust^†. The rest of his estate, including royalties from his songs, went to the Ray Charles Foundation, which funds education for people with hearing impairments^†. The children signed agreements not to make further claims^†. US copyright law lets an author's heirs terminate old transfers of copyright after set periods, and the right cannot be signed away. In 2010 seven of the children served termination notices on Warner/Chappell for dozens of his songs, which would move the copyrights from the foundation's income stream to them^†. The foundation sued, arguing the songs were works for hire and that the children had breached their agreements. A district court found the children had not breached their agreements and that the foundation could not recover the $500,000 payments, then dismissed the case for lack of standing. On 31 July 2015 the Ninth Circuit reversed on standing and sent the case back. The final outcome was not found^†.