Submission + - 'Happy Birthday' Hits Sour Notes When It Comes To Song's Free Use (npr.org)
vivaoporto writes: NPR reports that "Happy Birthday to You", the song the Guinness Book of World Records calls the most recognized in the English language, is the subject of a class action complaint regarding the validity of its copyright.
Despite being so popular you'll rarely ever hear it on TV or in a movie. Instead, you usually hear something that sounds sort of like the song, but not quite.
It turns out the publisher Warner/Chappell Music owns the copyright to the "Happy Birthday" song. That means that every time anyone wants to use the song, they must pay a licensing fee, sometimes as high as six figures. But how did Warner/Chappell get the rights?
"This is where it gets complicated," says filmmaker Jennifer Nelson, laughing.
Nelson is working on a documentary about the song. She paid for the rights to use it, and she's suing Warner/Chappell to get her money back, arguing it's part of the public domain — free for anyone to use.
If the company wins the suit, it can keep collecting licensing fees until the copyright expires. If Nelson and her lawyers win, the song will be in the public domain.
"I think it's going to set a precedent for this song and other songs that may be claimed to be under copyright, which aren't," says Newman.
The Courthouse News Service have more information about the pending suit.
Despite being so popular you'll rarely ever hear it on TV or in a movie. Instead, you usually hear something that sounds sort of like the song, but not quite.
It turns out the publisher Warner/Chappell Music owns the copyright to the "Happy Birthday" song. That means that every time anyone wants to use the song, they must pay a licensing fee, sometimes as high as six figures. But how did Warner/Chappell get the rights?
"This is where it gets complicated," says filmmaker Jennifer Nelson, laughing.
Nelson is working on a documentary about the song. She paid for the rights to use it, and she's suing Warner/Chappell to get her money back, arguing it's part of the public domain — free for anyone to use.
If the company wins the suit, it can keep collecting licensing fees until the copyright expires. If Nelson and her lawyers win, the song will be in the public domain.
"I think it's going to set a precedent for this song and other songs that may be claimed to be under copyright, which aren't," says Newman.
The Courthouse News Service have more information about the pending suit.
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'Happy Birthday' Hits Sour Notes When It Comes To Song's Free Use
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