Sir Paul McCartney has filed legal papers in the US, as part of an attempt to reclaim the publishing rights to The Beatles’ back catalogue, the reports.

Although he co-wrote most of the band’s hits, the star has never controlled the publishing.

However, the US copyright act of 1976 gives writers the opportunity to reclaim the rights after 56 years.

The Lennon-McCartney catalogue becomes available in 2018, and Sir Paul has recently moved to recapture it.

According to Billboard, the star filed a termination notice for 32 songs with the US Copyright Office in December.

Most of the songs date from 1962 – 1964, although others come from much later in the band’s career. Some of those, including Come Together and Why Don’t We Do It In The Road, are not due to become available until 2025.