Music publisher agrees to pay $14m to end Happy Birthday song lawsuit

The world could be free to sing Happy Birthday without being sued by as early as next month.

In a settlement filed with courts on Monday, music publisher Warner/Chappell agreed to pay $14m to end the lawsuit challenging its right to Happy Birthday To You – possibly the world’s most famous song.

The tune has a long contentious history stretching back to the late 19th century. Warner/Chappell bought the rights for $22m in 1988 and has since made an estimated $2m a year licensing the song for movies and TV.

But back in September, US district judge George H King ruled that Warner/Chappell did not own the lyrics to the song, just some of its musical arrangements. Next month, King will get to approve the settlement filed on Monday, making the song available to the public.

One of the plaintiffs in the case is Jennifer Nelson. Nelson was making a documentary about the song’s history when she was told she would have to pay $1,500 to use it in her film.

“We revealed a dark side to the happy tune. It’s a song that everyone’s familiar with and grew up with, but nobody knew that this song was copyrighted and you had to pay a license for that,” said Nelson. “The fact that it was illegally and wrongfully in the clutches of Warner/Chappell really outraged people and now we’ve been able to rectify that situation. So it’s really gratifying.”

The memorandum of support filed by the plaintiffs describes the settlement as “historic”.

“Because defendants have charged for use of the song, untold thousands of people chose not to use the song in their own performances and artistic works or to perform the song in public,” according to the memorandum. “After the settlement is approved, that restraint will be removed and the song will be performed and used far more often than it has been in the past.”

Even though Warner/Chappell agreed to settle, the company has issued a statement noting that it “respectfully disagreed with the court’s decision”.

The settlement is not final until it is approved by King. A hearing on the preliminary approval of the settlement is scheduled for 14 March.

“Happy Birthday is finally free after 80 years. Finally, the charade is over. It’s unbelievable,” Randall Newman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said back in September when King ruled that Warner/Chappell did not have right to the song.

The legal team representing the plaintiffs are seeking a $4.62m fee for their work on the case. The rest of the $14m settlement will be used to compensate everyone who has paid a fee for the use of the song in the past.