Santa Claus is Coming to Songwriter's Heirs

The heirs of the composer of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” got an early Christmas present from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The song was composed in the 1930s. The 1976 Copyright Act allows a copyright owner to terminate a license during a five year period beginning 35 years after the date of execution of the license. The composer’s heirs served a notice of termination on the publisher, EMI. Due to confusion created by the intricacies between pre and post 1976 copyright law, plus the existence of two license grants that were signed 30 years apart, EMI refused to accept the termination. The Second Circuit held in the heirs’ favor. The heirs are going to get holiday royalties until 2029.

TAKE AWAY: If you own a copyright or if you inherited a copyright, don’t try to figure out the termination process alone. It is full of land mines. BIGGEST TAKE AWAY: How fun is that? A Santa copyright decision during the Christmas season? Happy Holidays and see you next year.