I searched the archives about 6 or 8 ways and could not find this column. It was in The Straight Dope on page 323.
According to that column, the song “Happy Birthday to You” was to have its copyright expire in 1996. But somewhere around that time, Congress, in its infinite (lack of) wisdom, extended copyrights by 25 more years. I thought this extension only applied to those expiring after 1996, but I could be wrong. Does anyone know the actual copyright status of this song?
Oh yes, exactly why did Congress extend the copyrights? I’d heard that it was because there were a number of important Disney copyrights due to expire soon, but Disney Inc. convinced them to give them some more time.
Aha! It looks like a clear case of “Cecil wuz wrong”.
But I thought copyrights lasted for the life of the author + 75 years (formerly 50 years), although it’s possible that that only applies to things copyrighted after a certain date. Who knows the straight dope on copyright laws?
Life of the author + 75 years only applies to copyrights applied for under the 1978 Copyright Act (I believe that’s the year). “Happy Birthday to You” falls under the jurisdiction of the old Copyright Act, which had all sorts of arcane rules about putting the mark on the item and renewing the copyright.
I just taught a seminar that included this issue. The copyright terms have been extended by 20 years. I’ll reproduce some of my materials below (reformatted for the board). BTW, BobT is referring to the 1976 Act, which became effective on 1978. The dates below include the 20 year extension.
Relevant Date
. . .Protected From
. . . . . .Term Published before 1923
. . .In Public Domain
. . . . . .None Published 1923-1963
. . .When Published with Notice
. . . . . .28 years + possible renewal of 67 years. If no renewal, now in public domain Published 1964-1977
. . .When Published with Notice Automatic renewal.
. . . . . .Total of 95 years. Published 1978 -3/1/89
. . .1978, if (a) Published with Notice or (b) registration made within 5 years
. . . . . .Life + 70 years or 12-31-2047, whichever is greater Published 3/1/89 - at least 12-31-2002, longer if it is still protected(see next entry)
. . .1978
. . . . . .Life + 70 years or 12-31-2047, whichever is greater Not Published
. . .1978
. . . . . .Life + 70 years or 12-31-2002, whichever is greater Created 1978 or after
. . .When work is fixed in tangible medium
. . . . . .Life + 70 (measured by life of longest surviving author), or, if corporate authorship, the lesser of 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation.