To me there is a big difference between playing "Happy Birthday" in a restaurant and a theater screening "Gone With The Wind".

Playing "Happy Birthday" in a restaurant it more like quoting "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." from "Gone With The Wind".

I would not confuse playing a song that has become part of our common heritage with recording it or reproducing another recording of it. There is a big difference so that comparison is neither logical nor valid.

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Don't get me wrong, I respect the right of the copyright holder to profit from his or her work. I own a few dozen copyrights myself.

The first song I wrote was when I was in 1964. So the copyright has been in effect 50 years. If I die tomorrow, the work is protected for 125 years.

That many years for that simple little juvenile song that I've forgotten by now is absurd.

If I were to find a cure for cancer, I'd have less than 20 years protection. This tells me that 12 bar blues song with juvenile lyrics is more important to protect than a cure for cancer.

Like I said, there is a place between the two extremes of the copyright law that is probably right. I don't profess to know that sweet spot, but I can discuss points and speculate. BTW, I comply with the laws as written even if I don't agree with them.

And yes, there are fair use laws that have been tried and upheld in court.

The best example is a music teacher can copy and distribute copyrighted sheet music to his or her students. The only thing that can be contested in court is whether they are really students or not, or if they just pretend to be students to get free sheet music.

Parodies are fair use, as proven by Weird Al and 2 Live Crew.

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The most extreme case I can think of...

Here is a Public Domain song:

Good Morning to you
Good Morning to you
Good Morning Dear ____
Good Morning to you!

Replacing the words "Good Morning" with "Happy Birthday" and singing the same melody nets Warner Brothers $2 Million per year.

The last of the two sisters who substituted the words died in 1946. That means Warner or whoever they sell the copyright to will continue to make $2 million dollars per year until 2051.

Who among us thinks that this is fair?

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Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
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