Happy Birthday to You to enter public domain after copyright case is settled
No details of the settlement have been released, but it appears publisher Warner/Chappell has relinquished its claim on the song
A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit over whether Happy Birthday to You, one of the best-known songs in the world, is owned by a music publisher who earned millions by enforcing its copyright.
US district judge George H King ruled last September that Warner/Chappell Music Inc did not own the lyrics to the song, only some musical arrangements, and thus the company had no right to charge for its use.
A trial set to begin next week in Los Angeles could have finally decreed whether the lyrics sung to generations of birthday boys and girls around the globe really are in the public domain.
Also to be decided at trial was whether Warner/Chappell would have to return any of the licensing fees – estimated at up to $2m a year – that were collected for use of the song in movies, television shows and other commercial ventures. The cost of licensing is why so many films feature people being serenaded on their birthday with For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow, which is in the public domain.
Regards
Pralhad Jadhav
Senior Librarian
Khaitan & Co
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