2016 was a significant year, broadly speaking and in the world of Entertainment Law. With limited space for a review, below are some of the year’s most personally interesting cases and developments.
First, two updates picking up directly from Stephen Rodner’s excellent 2015 annual overview. Following up from last year’s decision by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Good Morning to You Productions v. Warner/Chappell Music, the question of whether the lyrics to the song “Happy Birthday to You” were still under copyright has been settled. In June 2016, the court finalized a settlement agreement with Warner/Chappell declaring all of “Happy Birthday” officially in the public domain. This followed a brief period of “Happy Birthday” finding itself an orphan work after 2015′s initial confirmation that the melody’s copyright had long since lapsed, and that the copyright for the lyrics had never been properly obtained in 1935 by the Clayton F. Summy Co., whose rights in the song ultimately shifted to Warner/Chappell after a buyout in 1988. It must be noted that some more financially conscious members of the industry can heave a sigh of relief now that the need to substitute “For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow” into birthday scenes is lifted.
