(Newswire.net — July 30, 2015) — Not many know that the popular birthday song “Happy Birthday To You” is protected by copyright law. The law permits performing the song at private parties and offices, however, filmmakers are painfully aware of the fact that every time they use the song in their films, the owner Warner Music Group claims their copyright fee. Reportedly, the movie giant earns around $2 million per year on “Birthday” song copyright claims.
That, however, may come to an end, according to lawyers for a filmmaker in New York. They claim they had discovered “smoking-gun” evidence that the song “Happy Birthday to You” should no longer be subject to copyright restrictions, New York Times reported.
After paying $1,500 to use the song in her documentary movie, the filmmaker Jennifer Nelson filed a lawsuit in 2013 asking that the company return any fees it had collected in the previous four years.
According to the Ms. Nelson’s lawyers, there is undeniable evidence the song was freed of copyright restrictions in 1922.
The lawyers submitted the 500 pages of documents that allegedly was missing 200 pages according to which the song ““Happy Birthday to You” has not been subject to copyright since 1922. The new document includes publication of the popular “Birthday” song with lyrics, published in 1924 without a copyright claim.
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.”
A representative for Warner’s publishing division, Warner/Chappell, allegedly did not return a call seeking comments, the NY Times reported.
Reportedly, the Warner company bought Birchtree Ltd., the registered owner of the song, for $25 million in 1988, when the rights to the song became the property of Warner Bros. Now lawyers are questioning the songs ownership by Birchtree Ltd.
According to the filmmaker, “Happy Birthday to You” is actually “Good Morning to All,” a song written by sisters, Mildred J. Hill and Patty Smith Hill in the late 1800s. Over the years the song spontaneously evolved into the most performed song ever, but was derived from people, and thus has no real owner.
“Most people look at it and say, ‘How could anyone claim to own a copyright to that song? And that’s a pretty good question,” said Mr. Rifkin, one of Ms. Nelson’s lawyers, adding that the lawsuit has attracted attention from across the world.