RE: Happy Birthday!

Thanks Terry! An interesting story that I had not heard. Just change one note and get another term. I hope a court would say that changing one note isn't sufficient originality.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: EXT Terry Carroll [mailto:carroll[_at_]tjc.com]
>
> On Tue, 3 Oct 2000 Jerald.Gnuschke[_at_]nokia.com wrote:
>
> > The tune is now public domain. It was published in
> 1893 with the
> > words "Good morning to all, etc." The words are possibly
> still under
> > copyright. Some licensing agencies assert that they are.
> > However, you are free to use the tune with lyrics of your own
> > creation.
>
> I've been told (hearsay alert) that the present owners of
> "Happy Birthday
> To You" continue to claim copyright in the melody as well.
> Their theory,
> as it was represented to me, is that the division of the single note
> assigned to the word "good" in the phrase "good morning to
> you" into the
> two notes corresponding to the word "happy" in the phrase
> "happy birthday
> to you" was sufficient originality to merit an independent
> copyright even
> to the melody.
>
> If that's really their position, I think it's balderdash.
>
> --
> Terry Carroll | "PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER"
> Santa Clara, CA | - Legend on PDF version of
> carroll[_at_]tjc.com | U.S. Copyright Office Form VA, at
> Modell delendus est |
> http://www.loc.gov/copyright/forms/formva.pdf
>
>
Received on Mon Oct 09 2000 - 15:58:37 GMT