Free Republic

He said in September that Warner/Chappell Music Inc. didn't own the lyrics to the song, only some musical arrangements - and thus the company had no right to charge for its use. Warner/Chappell has said it didn't try to collect royalties from just anyone singing the song but those who use it in a commercial enterprise. Jennifer Nelson, who was billed $1,500 to use 'Happy Birthday to You' in a documentary she is doing on the song's history, said she is 'delighted' with the outcome of the case.

Ninety years ago today, the song millions of people sing around a candlelit cake was published in a songbook. Although by 1924 the recognisable melody had been sung in American primary schools for nearly three decades, the publication was to trigger almost a century of legal wranglings which would result in Happy Birthday To You being one of the most lucrative songs of all time. Even though nobody knows who actually wrote Happy Birthday's lyrics, Warner Music contentiously owns the copyright to the song in its entirety. The media giant has therefore been earning millions from people celebrating their birthdays...

LOS ANGELES -- The host of a cartoon show known as "Sheriff John" to children in Los Angeles throughout the 1950s and 60s has died. John Rovick died Saturday in Boise, Idaho after a brief illness, his former station, KTTV-TV, told The Associated Press. He was 93. For nearly two decades, Rovick hosted a cartoon show that earned him an Emmy award for outstanding children's program.