The Big Bang Theory's iconic Soft Kitty song once landed the show in legal trouble

It's been over five years since The Big Bang Theory ended, but the craze doesn't seem to stop yet. The successful franchise expanded to a prequel series, Young Sheldon, Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage, and an upcoming show, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.

One of the longest-running and popular sitcoms of all time, TBBT followed the lives of four intellectual misfits- Sheldon, Howard, Leonard, and Raj- and their extroverted neighbor Penny in Pasadena, California. But do you know your favourite sitcom once faced a lawsuit back in 2015? The reason? Sheldon's favourite and comfort lullaby, 'Soft Kitty Warm Kitty'.

For twelve seasons, The Big Bang Theory turned the simple children's rhyme into one of TV's most popular gags. Who could ever forget the otherwise allergic-to-human-touch physicist, Sheldon Cooper, demanding Penny to sing Soft Kitty Warm Kitty and rub balm on his chest, or the time Amy sang an instrumental German and Mandarin version of the lullaby to Sheldon? Or when Sheldon sang 'Soft Kitty Warm Kitty' to an injured Penny?

The lullaby became an integral part of The Big Bang Theory, so much so that even the official merchandise had the lyrics on it. But behind the scenes, there was a brewing legal drama that could've stopped the show from using Sheldon's favourite comfort song. But it did not!

Here's what we know about it

The Big Bang Theory's iconic song Soft Kitty landed in legal trouble in 2015

What most fans didn't realize is that Soft Kitty Warm Kitty was not the original song written for the show. Instead, the lyrics were inspired by a 1930 nursery school poem by a teacher, Edith Newlin. The words first appeared in a 1937 songbook published by Willis Music Company, decades before the sitcom.

Warner Bros licensed the song through Willis Music Company when The Big Bang Theory started using the Soft Kitty song in 2007. However, the problem arose when Newlin's family claimed that the original agreement only permitted the poem's use in the songbook and not for anything else, TV shows or merchandise.

Thus, the daughters of Edith Newlin sued Warner Bros, CBS, and Turner Broadcasting, stating that the show profited off the rhyme their mother wrote without their permission. As per their copyright infringement complaint (Variety), the rhyme was used eight times in the sitcom, the lyrics were printed in the official merchandise, and the cast sang it at three Comic Cons.

However, as per a BBC report, this copyright violation case was dismissed by a New York district judge in 2017. This was because Ellen Newlin Chase and Margaret Chase Perry, the plaintiffs, failed to produce a valid copyright for the lyrics of the song. As per a report by IP Watch Dog, the court order notes stated:

"The plaintiffs argued that Newlin transferred her common law copyright and right to first publication to Willis while retaining 'her' copyright and all other rights to the lyrics. But plaintiffs cannot have it both ways. Either Newlin assigned to Willis Music the copyright issue here (and which defendants are alleged to have infringed) in which parts plaintiffs have no claim or Newlin retained copyright and Wllis Music had no right to renew it."

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From a catchy lullaby to an unexpected legal drama, Soft Kitty proved that even the most minute elements of pop culture aren't immune to controversy. The lullaby to this day remains iconic of The Big Bang Theory- whether in a courtroom, Penny's or Sheldon's apartment, or as a quirky footnote in TV history.

Read more: The Big Bang Theory theme song has a major scientific mistake (and only nerds like Sheldon could have noticed)

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