Momentous things when they happen aren't always obvious. Three days ago a hostage's 80 year captivity at the hands of corporate kidnappers - who up to last year were exacting about two million dollars a year in ransom but who had no intention of freeing their unfortunate victim - finally came to an end, though to little fanfare and consigned by and large to the "and finally ..." segment of news broadcasts. The hostage is now back in the public domain, where it can expect a long and happy life ahead of it, fearing only the occasional off-key mangling by enthusiastic children now and again, but free to play its allotted role in generating that most unwelcome aspect to life according to newscasters - sheer happiness and goodwill.

Love it or hate it as a tune - "Happy Birthday To You" is now free to be sung again. Warner Corporation's fourteen million dollar settlement (in theory this is the ransom money due to be returned to its rightful owners) allowed the judgement to proceed, and on 30th June 2016 the little ditty, originally the 1895 lovechild of sisters Patty and Mildred Hill, kindergarten teachers from Kentucky, stumbled out of the dark confines of captivity through the vestibule of a US District Court and into the bright sunlight of millions of birthday parties the world over.

Jenn Nelson, to whom the world owes a debt far in excess of that for which many have received public honour, made this little documentary about her campaign to return "Happy Birthday" to the masses.

Yesterday I was talking about the copyright issues of Happy Birthday and I remembered you had a post about how it was still in copyright. I went to find your post, Nordmann, and instead found this, which, if I had read earlier, I had forgotten. I don't see the post before that when I search for "Happy birthday" but presume it is still there somewhere. 

Thanks for this anyway belatedly.