Publisher to pay $14M in ‘Happy Birthday’ copyright case

The settlement, unveiled in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday, would eliminate the music publisher’s claimed ownership of the song.

The deal still awaits official approval by US district court Judge George H. King.

It also specifies that once the settlement is approved by the court, the song will be in the public domain.

Warner Music has proposed paying up to $14 million U.S. to settle a contentious dispute over the song Happy Birthday to You.

Judge King backed Nelson and her fellow plaintiffs, who argued that the song, originally titled, “Good Morning to All”, was actually written in 1893 and would thus be no longer covered by the 95-year copyright protection.

Warner’s copyright originated with the Hill sisters’ publisher, the Clayton F. Summy Co, later known as Birch Tree and acquired by Warner in 1988.

King declared last September that Warner/Chappell had no claim to the rights to the lyrics to the classic, only certain arrangements.

An agreement was struck in December, with details hammered out between lawyers for both sides in negotiations over the weeks since.

But in 2013, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Nelson – who was, coincidentally enough making a movie about the origins of “Happy Birthday to You” – refused to pay the requested $1,500 licensing fee, so Warner sued. A hearing is scheduled for March 14.

The song evolved and eventually the melody was set to the “Happy Birthday” lyrics. The merits of the case, of course, are pretty much some random assertions with little documentation to back them up, but assertions that have, nonetheless, allowed Warner to obtain an estimated $50 million in licensing fees over the years.