The end of the road for "For he's a jolly good fellow." on sitcoms...

[TrevorR]

Just spotted this in the Grauniad...

http://gu.com/p/4gh82?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

So it turns out that the legal wrangles over Happy Birthday To You have been settled and that it is finally in the public domain. And Warner Chappell have to compensate everyone they charged to use it for media and performances. So, no longer will the guests at birthday parties on films and telly programmes have to sing "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" slightly awkwardly instead of "Happy Birthday To You".

[cybertect]

The article is inaccurate in suggesting the sing will enter the public domain forthwith. All the court case settled was that Warner did not own the copyright; the judgement specifically excluded assigning copyright to anyone else or placing it into PD.

It is unlikely but still possible that another claimant may step forward.

Edited February 10, 2016 by cybertect