No Copyright For Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday song becomes a public domain after a federal court thrown out a copyright claim.

17:30 25 September 2015

The Happy Birthday song has been declared a public domain by a federal court judge in Los Angeles.

 

US district judge George H King ruled the copyright originally filed by the Clayton F Summy Co in1935 applied to a specific arrangement of the song but not the tune itself.

 

In a judgment posted online, he wrote: “Because Summy Co never acquired the rights to the Happy Birthday lyrics, [the] defendants, as Summy Co’s purported successors-in-interest, do not own a valid copyright in the Happy Birthday lyrics.”

 

Meanwhile, the attorney for the plaintiffs called the ruling “unbelievable.” Randall Newman said: “Happy Birthday is finally free after 80 years. Finally, the charade is over.”

 

Prior to the ruling, Warner Chappel Music, a division of the Warner Music Group, has been charging people for the use of the song. This included one of the plaintiffs, filmmaker Jennifer Nelson who paid $1,500 to used the song in a documentary she was making about its history.

 

Warner Chappell Music bought Summy’s successor, Birthtree Ltd in 1988 for reportedly $25million. Jay Morgenstern, then executive vice president of the Warner Chappell Music Group, said that it was a good investment.