An attempt by the Marley family has been thwarted by a judge in New York. The BBC report explained that Judge Denise Cote ruled Universal Music Group (UMG) owned the copyright to five albums the late star recorded between 1973 and 1977 for Island Records.

Marley's widow and children had sought millions in damages for UMG's alleged attempts to "exploit" his recordings. The albums in question are Catch A Fire, Burnin', Natty Dread, Rastaman Vibrations and Exodus which were all recorded by Marley with his band, The Wailers. On these albums are some of his popular songs including I Shot The Sheriff, One Love and No Woman No Cry.

Marley's family had accused UMG of intentionally withholding royalties from their 56 Hope Road music company. They also claimed UMG had failed to consult with them on key licensing decisions, among them the use of Marley's music on ringtones.

On Friday, however, Judge Cote ruled that Marley's recordings were "works made for hire" as defined under US copyright law. This, she said, entitled UMG to be designated the owner of those recordings as the parent company of Island Records.