Judge Hears Copyright Fight Over 'Happy Birthday To You'; National Law Journal, 3/23/15

Amanda Bronstad, National Law Journal; Judge Hears Copyright Fight Over 'Happy Birthday To You' :

"In a court battle involving perhaps the only song more popular than “Blurred Lines,” a federal judge is set to decide whether a Los Angeles-based music publisher has unlawfully been collecting licensing fees for the copyright to “Happy Birthday to You.”

U.S. District Judge George King of the Central District of California heard more than two hours of arguments on Monday on whether to declare Warner/Chappell Music Inc.’s copyright invalid and find that “Happy Birthday to You” should be in the public domain.

At stake are potentially millions of dollars in licensing fees to what the complaint calls the “world’s most popular song.”"