By Ross Todd, From The Recorder

SAN FRANCISCO — In a ruling that could upend an 80-year licensing campaign for the song “Happy Birthday,” a federal judge in Los Angeles has concluded that Warner/Chappell Music Inc. doesn’t own a valid copyright for the song’s lyrics.

The ruling Tuesday from U.S. District Judge George King of the Central District of California is a loss for Warner/Chappell and its lawyers at Munger, Tolles & Olson. Plaintiff’s lawyers at Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz hope to certify a class action to recoup the millions in dollars in licensing fees collected on the tune.

King’s decision is a 41-page dive into the 122-year history of the song and a set of decades-old disputes over rights to it. The judge found that the Clayton F. Summy Co., a predecessor to Warner/Chappell, only held a copyright to a certain arrangement of the melody of “Happy Birthday,” and not the lyrics.

“Because Summy Co. never acquired the rights to the Happy Birthday lyrics, defendants, as Summy Co.’s purported successors-in-interest, do not own a valid copyright in the Happy Birthday lyrics,” King wrote.

Wolf Haldenstein’s Mark Rifkin, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, wasn’t immediately available Wednesday. Rifkin, whose clients include a group of documentary filmmakers producing a film on the history of the song, told the Los Angeles Times Tuesday that he will seek damages for royalties paid to use the song since “at least” 1988. Rifkin said the plaintiffs could possibly pursue claims going back as far as 1935.

Munger’s Kelly Klaus didn’t immediately respond to a phone message. A firm spokesperson directed a message to the company.

A Warner/Chappell spokesperson provided the following statement by email: “We are looking at the court’s lengthy opinion and considering our options.”

For more on this story go to: http://www.therecorder.com/id=1202738007377/Judge-Blows-Out-Copyright-on-Happy-Birthday-Song#ixzz3mfhT3AFN