Ha ha ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha-ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha ha ha
In what appears to be an end to a decades-long legal stoush, a California judge has ruled that Warner/Chappell music do not have any legal right to enforce copyright on the song ‘Happy Birthday To You’.
You’ll seldom hear ‘Happy Birthday’ sung in movies and on TV, due to the fact that Warner/Chappell purchased rights-holder Birch Tree Group for $US 15 million in 1988, and have since charged anyone who wanted to publicly perform it.
This does not just apply on-screen – technically, restaurant staff are not allowed to sing it when giving out cake to patrons, hence why many restaurant chains favour weird, knock-off birthday songs.
In a 43-page ruling, judge George H. King found that Warner/Chappell purchased the rights to only specific piano arrangements of the ‘Happy Birthday’ music when it obtained Birch Tree, not the song itself or its lyrics.
“‘Happy Birthday’ is finally free after 80 years,” said Randall Newman, an attorney representing the plaintiffs in the suit, including several film-makers. “Finally, the charade is over. It’s unbelievable.”
The song pulls in an estimated $US 2 million a year in royalties, so the decision is likely to sting. Warner/Chappell’s lawyers have since clarified that “we are looking at the court’s lengthy opinion and considering our options.”
‘Happy Birthday’ was written in 1893 by sisters Patty Smith Hill and Milred J. Hill, to be sung for Patty’s kindergarten students; at the time it was called ‘Good Morning To All’.
via LA Times.
