Judge frees ‘Happy Birthday’ from copyright claim

King ruled that Summy never acquired the rights to the song’s lyrics, and the defendants’ claims to the contrary were “implausible and unreasonable”. “In 1934, four decades after Patty supposedly wrote the song, they finally asserted their rights to the “Happy Birthday/Good Morning” melody – but still made no claim to the lyrics”. “It’s unbelievable”.

Warner had asked the pair to pay US$1,500 (S$2,131) for the rights to play the tune in the movie. It reportedly paid $25m for the company.

According to Rifkin, the “smoking gun” in the case turned up when Warner/Chappell Music handed over documents that included a publication of the song from the early 1920s. Unless something happens at an appellate court or unless someone else comes forward with a valid claim of ownership to the song, filmmakers like director Jennifer Nelson – who sued in 2013 over demands as much as six figures to license – will no longer have to pay to feature “Happy Birthday” in motion pictures and television shows.

Although King did not address restitution in his ruling, he did go into great detail about the history of the song, the melody of which was taken from another popular children’s song of more than 100 years ago, “Good Morning to All“.

They challenged the copyright, arguing that the song should be “dedicated to public use and in the public domain”.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the plaintiffs should be granted summary judgement, THR’s Eriq Gardner reports. “If [the Hill sisters] didn’t convey the rights to Summy Co., then is there someone else that might still own them?”

The plaintiff’s attorneys have said that they will move to qualify the lawsuit as a class-action in an effort to recoup millions of dollars in licensing fees Warner/Chappell has collected on the tune over the years.

One of the co-plaintiffs, Ruypa Marya of the music group Ruypa & The April Fishes, also praised the decision as momentous, saying “I hope we can start reimagining copyright law to do what it’s supposed to do – protect the creations of people who make stuff so that we can continue to make more stuff”. The company has not indicated that it will do so.