If the lawsuit does succeed in getting the song declared public domain, I wonder how strong a case any past licensees have to recover the fees they paid for what turns out to be nothing?
I doubt it. The courts generally aren't kind to people making these sort of ex post facto claims.
I wish there was a punishment for companies that steal from the public domain. I would also apply this punishment to congressmen that continue to extend copyright durations well past the point of sanity.
