‘Happy Birthday’ song copyright case settled for $14M

Warner Music has offered to pay $14 million in order to settle a high-profile copyright case concerning ownership of the song “Happy Birthday to You.”

The music company’s publishing subsidiary, Warner/Chappell, said in court documents unsealed this week that it will give $14 million back to a class of “thousands of people and entities” who have paid to use the tune in commercial works.

Under the terms of a proposed settlement filed in December but kept secret until Monday, Warner/Chappell will relinquish ownership of what court documents call “the world’s most popular song” and it will be entered into the public domain.

Warner/Chappell had maintained ownership of the song since acquiring its last publisher in 1988, and has made roughly $2 million in royalties each year ever since by licensing its use in movies, television shows and for other commercial purposes. In court, experts said that the song stood to generate upwards of $16.5 million for the publishers during the next 15 years.

In 2013, however, filmmaker Jennifer Nelson took Warner to court after she was asked to pay $1,500 for usage of the song in a documentary she was making on the origins of “Happy Birthday to You.” She challenged the licensing fee and before long was joined by other plaintiffs who took aim at the publishing house’s claims over the ubiquitous song.

Judge George H. King ruled in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in September the original copyright filed for the song in 1935 concerned only the music and not its lyrics, and that Warner/Chappell had no right to charge for its use. The matter was expected to go to trial, but a settlement was reached in December and finally made public this week.

Plaintiffs hailed the settlement as “unquestionably an excellent result” in court filings.

“We are pleased to bring this matter to resolution,” a Warner/Chappell spokeswoman said in a statement Tuesday.

Judge King is expected to announce whether he approves the proposal at a March 14 hearing. If he does, Warner/Chappell will establish a $14 million fund of which roughly one-third will pay for the plaintiff’s attorney fees. The remainder is expected to then compensate individuals who have paid to use the song during the past several decades.