British rock musician and activist Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, popular as Sting, has been sued by his former band The Police members Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland over unpaid royalty for the band’s 1983 hit track Every Breath You Take, as per reports.

According to a report by Irish news portal The Sun, Summers and Copeland have knocked on the London High Court’s door for being denied credit as co-writers of the song.

Sting earns around GBP 5,50,000 in royalties every year for the song, The Daily Mail reported.

Summers and Copeland claimed that they didn’t receive the co-writing credits and any royalties for the track, which became the fifth-best-selling song of the decade and the best-selling song in the year of its release.

The lawsuit has been registered under the ‘general commercial contracts and arrangements’ at London’s High Court.

“This has been coming for quite some time. Lawyers tried repeatedly to reach an out-of-court settlement but hit a stalemate… Andy and Stewart decided there was no alternative but to court, so they pressed the button. They say they are owed millions in lost royalties,” a source close to the musicians told The Sun.

Sting and his company, Magnetic Publishing Limited, are listed as defendants.

As per news reports, there were differences between band members, particularly Sting and Copeland, resulting in disruptions during recordings for the song.

Producer Hugh Padgham once said in an interview with London-based radio station Smooth Radio that Sting and Copeland “hated each other” by the time the recordings began for the song.

The widening rift between the bandmates almost led to the cancellation of the recording session until a meeting involving the band and the group’s manager, Miles Copeland (Stewart Copeland’s brother), resulted in an agreement to continue. The song was recorded at Air Studios, on the island of Montserrat.

The Police, a pioneering new wave band, formed in London in 1977 and tasted fame with their second album Reggatta de Blanc. This album was the first of four to reach number one on the charts. Emerging in the British new wave scene, they played a style of rock influenced by punk, reggae, and jazz.

The band’s origins date back to when drummer Stewart Copeland founded The Police, recruiting Sting after being impressed by his work with the jazz fusion band Last Exit. Guitarist Andy Summers soon joined, but the trio’s dynamic suffered due to a power struggle, as per reports.

In 1984, at the peak of their popularity, the band dissolved over internal disagreements. However, The Police made a surprising return with a Reunion Tour taking place between 2007 and 2008, during which they travelled the world from Europe to South America.