In that decision, the judge added that in his view, it's questionable whether alleged author Patty Hill wrote the song at all.
King gave Nelson and other plaintiffs an interim victory in September when he ruled that the copyright transfer deal that Warner had relied on was invalid. The deal still needs to be approved by US District Judge George King, who is overseeing the case. But despite the song's murky early history, music publisher Warner/Chappell has stuck to its story that the song was copyrighted in 1935, and a royalty had to be paid for any public use of it-until now. "Happy Birthday" has the same melody as "Good Morning to You," a children's song dating to the 19th Century. The settlement is a result of a lawsuit originally filed in 2013 by filmmaker Jennifer Nelson, who challenged the "Happy Birthday" copyright. Music publisher Warner/Chappell will no longer be allowed to collect licensing royalties on those who sing "Happy Birthday" in public and will pay back $14 million to those who have paid for licensing in the past, according to court settlement papers filed late Monday night.
Free happy birthday song free#
The public will soon be free to sing the world's most famous song.
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