American Idol Taylor Hicks Sues to Protect Early Recordings  8/25/06

American Idol winner Taylor Hicks  has filed a lawsuit in an effort to stop the release of his first recordings.

The silver-haired soul singer has been granted a temporary restraining order, which will prevent producer William Smith from cashing in on Hicks' early tracks.

Hicks accuses Nashville, Tennessee-based Smith of illegally cashing in on tracks he recorded in the late-1990s for WilliamSmith Productions Inc.

Attorneys for the singer claim Smith had no right to release tracks Hicks wrote and recorded to Internet digital download warehouse iTunes.

Hicks' suit, filed on Tuesday (22AUG06) in his native Alabama, seeks compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $75,000 and claims ownership of the allegedly illegally released tunes.