Lucas sez, "I'm reading Murmurs of Earth, Carl Sagan's account of the how and why of the musical selections included on the golden phonograph records that went into space on the Voyager spacecraft. What really floored me was this little admission from page 19:"
We wanted to send "Here Comes The Sun" by the Beatles, and all four Beatles gave their approval. But the Beatles did not own the copyright, and the legal status of the piece seemed too murky to risk.
(Thanks, Lucas!)