Law Questions

Summary of the Facts of the Case:

Bobby Bandleader has been singing his own version of Happy Birthday to you for over twenty years now at his restaurant. In Bobby's version, he uses the same tune, but has changed some of the words. Due to this version, the singing of the song has become very popular and has made the restaurant successful.

Johnny Singstealer is the copyright holder of Happy Birthday to You. Johnny’s rights and ownership of the copyright has not yet expired and since then has discovered the use of the song by Bobby Bandleader.

Johnny now seeks to sue Bobby of copyright infringement in the amount of 1 million dollars and damages for past and present copyright abuse as well as injunction against any further performances of the song by Bobby until a licensing agreement is in place. Arbitration has been agreed upon by both partied to save on the cost of a trial.

Copyright Laws:

The copyright laws of the United States can be found in Title 17 of the United States Code. This can be found at the following website: http://www.copyright.gov/title17/

Section 101 - Definitions

A “derivative work” is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications, which, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship, is a “derivative work”

Bobby has develop his own version of Happy Birthday To You, however, with changing the words only and keeping same the tune is considered to be “derivative work” of the copyrighted song pursuant to the Section 101 of the Copyright Laws.

Bobby's restaurant is considered a "food service or drinking establishment." This definition supports Johnny's claim that singing ("performing") the Happy Birthday...