Hi, Folks -

During his tenure as host of The Late Late Show on CBS, Craig Ferguson sometimes expressed his amazement and dismay at the fact that he wasn't allowed to sing "Happy Birthday to You" on air without incurring a hefty royalty fee for doing so, apparently to be paid to Warner/Chappell who purported to be the copyright owner. I forget the exact cut-off point, but it was something like "Sing more than 8 notes and you have to pay." :)

A court case about the copyright has been in the works since 2013, and on September 22 a federal court ruled that Warner/Chappell does not have a valid copyright claim to anything more than one specific piano arrangement of the song - and specifically, they don't hold the copyright to the lyrics.

It's not yet clear as a matter of law whether "Happy Birthday to You" is in the public domain - but it may turn out that way, eventually. It does appear there are no other claimants to the copyright on the lyrics, and it does appear the copyright on the melody expired long ago.

According to Wikipedia: "Prior to the lawsuit, Warner/Chappell had been earning $2 million a year licensing the song for commercial use.[46] Further proceedings in the case will determine whether Warner/Chappell will have to pay back some portion of the millions in dollars in licensing fees it has charged."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You#2013_lawsuit

--hobie