Michael Donaldson Discusses ‘Happy Birthday to You’ Lawsuit with AMERICAblog
AMERICAblog interviewed Partner Michael Donaldson for the article, “Why do filmmakers and restaurants have to pay to use ‘Happy Birthday’?” to weigh-in on how the “Happy Birthday to You” lawsuit against Warner Music will impact copyright law. Warner Music has claimed rights to the song “Happy Birthday to You” since 1988, but a class action lawsuit asks whether the tune is in the public domain, and if Warner ever owned any rights to it in the first place.
Although there are more questions than answers when it comes to copyright law in the Internet age, Mr. Donaldson believes that the court will decide that “Happy Birthday” is in the Public Domain.