Santa Claus No Longer “Coming To Town” for EMI

The copyright “termination right” permits copyright owners (and their heirs) to terminate copyright transfers or licenses granted on or after January 1, 1978. For details about how this works, check out Conversation #29 in Arts Law Conversations. Basically, though, the concept is this: if you transferred your copyright to someone else (like, a publisher) and you want to get it back — you can. You just have to wait 35 years.

The heirs of John Frederick Coots exercised this right. It wasn’t smooth sailing, but it is now a done deal. As of December 15, 2016 they will recapture, from music publisher EMI, the copyright to the seventh highest earning song of all time: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

I guess if you’re the publisher: you’d better watch out.