<P> On September 22, 2015, federal judge George H. King ruled that the Warner / Chappell copyright claim over the lyrics was invalid . The 1935 copyright held by Warner / Chappell applied only to a specific piano arrangement of the song, not the lyrics or melody . The court held that the question of whether the 1922 and 1927 publications were authorized, thus placing the song in the public domain, presented questions of fact that would need to be resolved at trial . However, Warner / Chappell had failed to prove that it actually had ever held a copyright to the lyrics, so the court was able to grant summary judgment to the plaintiffs, thus resolving the case . </P> <P> Some initial news sources characterized the decision as ruling that the song was in the public domain, but the decision did not go so far, holding only that Warner / Chappell did not prove they owned the copyright . However, because there are no other claimants to the copyright, and the copyright to the melody long ago expired, the plaintiffs suggested that the song was de facto in the public domain . Also, the judge ruled that the song was not copyrighted by Summy Co., who had written in the song book, "Special permission through courtesy of the Clayton F. Summy Co ." Since there was no evidence Summy Co. had copyright on the song, the song is still considered to be in the public domain . </P> <P> Prior to the lawsuit, Warner / Chappell had been earning $2 million a year licensing the song for commercial use, with a notable example the $5,000 paid by the filmmakers of the 1994 documentary, Hoop Dreams, in order to safely distribute the film . On February 8, 2016, Warner / Chappell agreed to pay a settlement of $14 million to those who had licensed the song, and would allow a final judgment declaring the song to be in the public domain, with a final hearing scheduled in March 2016 . On June 28, 2016, the final settlement was officially granted and the court declared that the song was in the public domain . The following week, Nelson's short - form documentary, Happy Birthday: my campaign to liberate the people's song, was published online by The Guardian . </P> <P> In the wake of their success, the lawyers involved in the "Happy Birthday" lawsuit filed similar lawsuits regarding "We Shall Overcome" and "This Land Is Your Land". </P>

Who gets paid for the happy birthday song
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