Filmmakers fighting “Happy Birthday” copyright find their “smoking gun”

Posted by BernardSwiss on Jul 28, 2015 3:29 AM EDT
Ars Technica; By Joe Mullin
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It's been two years since filmmakers making a documentary about the song "Happy Birthday" filed a lawsuit claiming that the song shouldn't be under copyright. Now, they have filed what they say is "proverbial smoking-gun evidence" that should cause the judge to rule in their favor.

The "smoking gun" is a 1927 version of the "Happy Birthday" lyrics, predating Warner/Chappell's 1935 copyright by eight years. That 1927 songbook, along with other versions located through the plaintiffs' investigations, "conclusively prove that any copyright that may have existed for the song itself... expired decades ago."

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Further coverage here BernardSwiss 0 1,273 Jul 29, 2015 3:36 PM

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