Lawyers for a filmmaker in New York said they had discovered “smoking-gun” evidence that the song Happy Birthday to You should no longer be subject to copyright restrictions.
As it stands, it is safe to sing the tune at office gatherings, and lawyers are unlikely to halt children’s birthday parties.
However, Warner/Chappell, the publishing arm of the Warner Music Group and the holder of the song’s copyright, has been estimated to collect US$2 million a year in licensing fees for its use in films, television shows and other productions.
Filmmaker Jennifer Nelson filed a lawsuit in 2013 after paying US$1,500 to use the song in her documentary movie, which was tentatively titled Happy Birthday, asking that the company return any fees it had collected in the previous four years.
Nelson’s lawyers now say, based on new evidence, that Happy Birthday to You has been free of copyright protection since 1922.
On July 13, defense lawyers produced 500 pages of documents, 200 of which they said were mistakenly omitted earlier in the litigation, according to a court filing.
The new documents included a 1927 publication of the song lyrics that included no claim of copyright.
Further investigation by Nelson’s lawyers uncovered an edition of the book from 1922, also with no copyright notice.
The court filing argues that copyright law at the time required such a notice and that without it the work was “interjected irrevocably into the public domain.”
Mark Rifkin, one of Nelson’s lawyers, said they brought the new evidence to the court’s attention within hours of its discovery. A hearing was scheduled for yesterday in Los Angeles.
A spokesman for Warner/Chappell did not return a call seeking comment.
In 1988, the company paid about US$25 million to acquire Birchtree Ltd, which owned the song.
Happy Birthday to You traces back to the late 1800s, when two sisters, Mildred Hill and Patty Smith Hill, wrote a song called Good Morning to All.
That song evolved into the popular version widely known today.
Rifkin said the lawsuit had attracted attention from across the world.
“Most people look at it and say: ‘How could anyone claim to own a copyright to that song?’” he said. “That is a pretty good question.”
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