In the out of court settlement, Warner agrees to allowing a judge to declare the song to be in the public domain, however, the judge will have to agree to it.<p>&quot;the settlement stipulates a proposed final judgment and order that would declare the song to be in the public domain&quot; ... &quot;An agreement to have a judge declare the song in the public domain is no doubt unusual and will likely command some attention by the judge on review&quot;<p>Why is Warner suddenly graciously agreeing to this, you may wonder: &quot;By agreeing to the settlement, Warners avoids going to trial to determine whether it should be punished for collecting licensing money for many decades&quot;<p>Disclaimer: IANAL