{"id":5572,"date":"2015-09-24T04:47:37","date_gmt":"2015-09-24T04:47:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/skylight.gr\/administrator_wordpress\/index.php\/2015\/09\/24\/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain\/"},"modified":"2015-09-24T04:47:37","modified_gmt":"2015-09-24T04:47:37","slug":"happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/2015\/09\/24\/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Happy Birthday\u2019 Song Is Now Public Domain"},"content":{"rendered":"


The biggest song in the English-speaking world is now free from copyright, thanks to a judge\u2019s ruling issued Tuesday evening.\u00a0 In a summary judgment ruling, U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California George H. King dismantled Warner\/Chappell Music\u2019s argument that it had legally acquired the copyright to the lyrics to \u2018Happy Birthday\u2019 through a long, byzantine series of transfers.
The decision means that \u2018Happy Birthday\u2019 is now in the public domain, and free from copyright ownership.<\/p>\n

The ownership arguments in the case revolved around Summy Co., a publishing company later acquired and eventually owned by Warner\/Chappell.\u00a0 Summy claimed to have previously secured the lyrical rights from songwriting duo Mildred and Patty Smith Hill in the 1930s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a great victory for musicians, artists and people around the world who have waited decades for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

That turns out to be an indefensible claim, with little hard evidence behind it.\u00a0 \u201cDefendants ask us to find that the Hill sisters eventually gave Summy Co. the rights in the lyrics to exploit and protect, but this assertion has no support in the record,\u201d King opined.\u00a0 \u201cThe Hill sisters gave Summy Co. the rights to the melody, and the rights to piano arrangements based on the melody, but never any rights to the lyrics.\u201d<\/p>\n

The melody itself was registered for copyright in 1893, was renewed and eventually fell into public domain in 1949.\u00a0 The reason for the separation between lyrics and melody is this: the melody itself was written to accompany lyrics for \u2018Good Morning to You,\u2019 which eventually morphed into \u2018Happy Birthday to You.\u2019\u00a0 The oft-sung birthday lyrics were not part of the original registration, however.<\/p>\n

Just recently, a University of Louisville librarian James Procell discovered a manuscript book that contained \u2018Good Morning to You,\u2019 the earliest known version of the work.\u00a0 That book, called Songs for the Kindergarten, pre-dated the eventual \u2018Happy Birthday\u2019 song.<\/p>\n

The case means that Warner\/Chappell will now lose roughly $2 million in annual licensing costs related to the song.\u00a0 But Warner may also be accused of wrongly claiming rights to the work, and subject to legal action from litigants who feel that they were needlessly bullied into paying for those rights.\u00a0 Damages could pile into the millions, given the annual revenue estimates revealed in court proceedings (the plaintiffs have indicated a possible class action ahead).<\/p>\n

The ruling represents a huge victory for litigating filmmaker Jennifer Nelson, who raised the legal challenge after receiving six-figure demands to license the song.\u00a0 Now, Nelson, and other filmmakers will not be required to pay anything.\u00a0 \u201cThis is a great victory for musicians, artists and people around the world who have waited decades for this,\u201d Nelson proclaimed.<\/p>\n

That said, Warner could mount an appeal or challenge, though King\u2019s ruling is rather decisive.<\/p>\n

The complete decision is here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Source: Creative Common License<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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