In 1934, Fred Coots co-wrote “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” with lyricist Haven Gillespie. The song went on to be one of the highest money-making songs of all time (so far). It has been performed by over 200 artists, including, most notably, Bruce Springsteen. The song is the basis for the 1970’s classic Christmas special of the same name.
Fred Coots died on April 8, 1985. Haven Gillespie died in 1975.
In 2015, after an eight year battle, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that the music rights should revert to the heirs of the Coots estate. They were previously sold to a musical publishing company. However, under U.S. copyright laws, songwriters have the right to terminate publishing contracts in certain circumstances. The Court of Appeal found that Coots had effectively given notice of the termination of the copyright, and that the copyright therefore would revert to the Coots heirs in 2016.
A similar lawsuit was commenced by the Gillespie family in 2017. The family sued the music publisher Memory Lane Music for royalties claimed to be owing to the Gillespie estate.
Happy Holidays.