One of my favorite bits of music lore is the saga of the Hill Sister's copyright of the melody and lyrics to "Happy Birthday". It is sometimes considered the most popular/familiar song in the English language.
It seems the copyright, currently owned by Warner/Chappell, is being newly challenged in court. At stake is the estimated $2,000,000 per year that Warner earns on the song.
I always get a chuckle when, on a talk show, a guest starts to sing the familiar "Happy Birthday" song to someone, only to be quickly stopped by the host lest the show have to pay a royalty to the "Hill Sisters". Of course the sisters are long dead and the copyright is now in corporate hands, but the reference to the sisters is still often jokingly made. For similar reasons one rarely hears a restaurant's serving staff singing the original song to a patron. A made-up alternative is more often sung to avoid stepping into royalty territory.
It will be interesting to watch the outcome of this case,which attempts to put the song into the public domain. I personally hope the case fails, just because I staunchly support intellectual property rights. The next ruling will be on the usual filings for summary judgement, and should come within a couple of weeks.
30 Jul 2015, 2:33 pm
