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Assuming this ruling stands, does anybody know if the people who previously paid for a license to use Happy Birthday can get their money back? EDIT: See below.
by torgoguys 11y ago
Assuming this ruling stands, does anybody know if the people who previously paid for a license to use Happy Birthday can get their money back?
EDIT: See below. Apparently the plaintiff's attorneys intend to try.
- spiralpolitik 11y agoIf they could demonstrate that the licensor knew that the copyright was suspect then they might have a case for misrepresentation or fraud. Given the potential amount of money involved I'm sure some lawyer will give it a go.
- FireBeyond 11y agoGiven facts like the copies of the original score had a big 'smudge' over the copyright line that clearly proved that Warner Bros never had any claim to things (which isn't visible in the original, that clearly reads), there's a decent case to be made for bad faith. WB has milked this for years and made millions, knowing it had zero right to the song.
- ipsin 11y agoThat was the point of the class action mentioned in the article.
- torgoguys 11y agoAh, I see that. The article has been updated since first posted and is much longer now. Thanks for pointing it out.
- snogglethorpe 11y agoI suppose like most class-action suits, each participant will get about $0.43 and only the lawyer will really benefit. But in this case, it's still a great thing, as the main goal is punitive, to make copyright vultures feel some pain...