Dear friends,

Good morning, and welcome to our first weekend edition of Enterprise. Many of you have asked that we consider doing a weekend digest. Since we had some time on our hands over the past few days, we decided to give it a go.

It’s fitting we’re introducing something new this morning because Enterprise is one year old today. You can see our very first issue here, if you’re curious. Go ahead and laugh. We can take it. (Kind of.) (Oh, and see our From the Archives section, below, for a “whatever happened to…” look at the very first video featured in that issue.)

To help you catch up on the week’s vital business and politics, we’re going to experiment with a weekend roundup to put a “cap” on the work week, as it were. We’re rolling out in English this week and we’ll add an Arabic edition next weekend or the weekend after.

Each edition will include a roundup of the week’s biggest stories in business, politics and economics — and serve-up a handful of interesting stories or ideas we think are worth exploring on the weekend, as well as a story or two to watch in the week ahead.

We’ll be experimenting with format and adding in a handful of additional sections over the coming weeks, so we would genuinely appreciate your feedback — drop us a line ateditorial@enterprisemea.com. What works? What needs refining? What time should it arrive?

As always, thank you for choosing to start your day with Enterprise — and thank you, all, for an amazing year.

Happy Eid, everyone. We’ll be back on Monday morning — same time, same place.

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WHAT’S HAPPENED SINCE WE WENT ON VACATION

The campaign to #FreeAJStaff has come to an end: Former Al Jazeera English Cairo bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy and producer Baher Mohamed were released on Wednesday (and inexplicably dropped at the front gate of Cairo American College) by presidential pardon. Ninety eight other (pdf) “detained youth” were released at the same time, according to a statement from Ittihadiya, including “political activists Omar Hazek, Peter Galal Youssef, Sanaa Seif and Yara Sallam.” Fahmy tweeted his thanks to Canadian Ambassador Troy Lulashnyk as well as Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, among others. Fahmy is headed to Canada, where the will become adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia’s Global Reporting Center. The Canadian Press has a solid piece on his release as well as his plans for the coming days and months.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi issued the pardons just one day before he was due to depart for New York, for which he left yesterday after Eid prayers. El Sisi is due to address the United Nations General Assembly today, “addressing topics including developments in the political and economic situation in Egypt, as well as Cairo’s position towards regional issues in the Middle East,” reports Ahram Online, citing the cabinet spokesman. The outcome of Egypt’s big diplomatic push over the past year to win a non-permanent seat on the Security Council will be decided in a vote on 15 October.

From the Ministry of Schadenfreude: Fahmy’s release also came the same day as the Guardian reported that our, uh, ‘pals’ at Al Jazeera will be cutting 800-1,000 positions (or about a quarter of its workforce).

A stampede on Thursday in Mecca has claimed more than 700 lives in the country’s worst pilgrimage disaster in 25 years, according to Reuters. Amateur footage shows the stampede was precipitated by the opening of small gate in a fence followed by the uncontrolled and unmanaged surge of hajj pilgrims pouring through. (Watch in Arabic, low res, running time: 3:14) At least 30 Egyptians were injured in the stampede, according to reports on Thursday.

Egypt has finalized the long-rumored purchase of two Mistralclass helicopter carriers from France. The ships were originally intended for sale to Russia, but the transaction was scrapped following Russia’s annexation of the Crimea. Foxtrot Alpha is asking the right questions about the purchase, namely: What does Egypt intend to do with the ships, exactly? “… it is not exactly clear what Egypt plans on doing with two amphibious helicopter carriers. These powerful ships could be used as seabases of sorts, parking them off the coast of trouble spots on the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Arabian Sea, but that would signal a massive expeditionary shift in Egypt’s foreign policy. Although maybe this shift has been underway already, with Sunni Arab states openly fighting Iranian backed Houthi Rebels in Yemen.”

Some voices of dissent are emerging from the media chorus cheering a constitutional amendment that would further diminish checks and balances between parliament and the presidency. A number of intellectuals and scholars have noted with concern that certain sectors of the Egyptian media have been pushing for President El Sisi to follow through with recent hints that the constitution will be amended with regard to the powers of parliament, as noted by author Ammar Ali Hassan (Read in Arabic) as well as a constitutional expert at Cairo University (Read in Arabic). While no further comment has been made from Ittihadiya, most observers have interpreted his remarks as reflecting his intention to change the system of government from semi-presidential to presidential, and some media figures have reportedly clamored for the amendment to be enacted before parliamentary elections take place. The campaign period for elections to the House of Representatives gets underway this coming week

The European Working Group on Egypt published an open letter on Thursday addressed to European leaders in which they welcome upcoming parliamentary elections in Egypt, but call upon leaders to “stop short of accepting the extraordinary curtailing of political rights since July 2013 as a ‘new normal’ … it is not necessary to give credence to the Egyptian authorities’ rhetoric of democratisation. Doing so would debase the value of European political endorsement. Nor should the EU uncritically accept the threat of terrorism as an excuse.” The letter is signed by Issandr El Amrani, International Crisis Group (ICG) and Koert Debeuf, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, among }others. (Read)

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has “highly curable” lymphoma, he said in a letter to shareholders released on Tuesday. “My doctors have advised me that during the treatment, I will be able to work substantially as normal, leading the firm,” the 61-year-old wrote. “My own expectation is that I will be cured.”

Volkswagen shares down 40% since last Friday on the back of emissions-rigging scandal. Porsche CEO Matthias Müller tipped to take over: Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned on Wednesday following the revelation that Volkswagen had purposely fitted its vehicles with software to cheat emissions tests in the United States, Reuters reported. VW reportedly faces penalties of upwards of USD 18 bn, in a scandal that is seen by some as a possible death knell for the company. The Wall Street Journal reports that the issue affects 11 mn Volkswagen vehicles worldwide and could prompt a global recall.

THIS WEEK IN: POLITICS

Everything new under the sun: We have a new cabinet, a new ambassador to the U.S., and a new presidential advisor.

New Cabinet: The president swore-in Prime Minister Sherif Ismail’s Cabinet last Saturday. There are 16 new faces, three merged ministries and only one real surprise: Trade and Industry Minister Mounir Abdelnour exited stage left. The rest of the cabinet economic team remains intact, despite speculation that tension between Investment Minister Ashraf Salman and Finance Minister Hani Dimian would see one of them leave the Council of Ministers. Abdelnour’s departure deprives cabinet of one of its longest-serving and most reasonable members and leaves just one minister to represent the concerns of the nation’s Coptic minority. A veteran of the business community, Abdelnour joined cabinet during the brief rule of Ahmed Shafiq as PM — back in 2011.

Net neutral for business… Abdelnour was replaced by Tarek Kabil, the one-time P&G and Pepsi exec and, most recently, partner at global private equity heavyweight Abraaj. We expect Kabil has the skills and exposure to strike the delicate balance between the “trade” and “industry” sides of his portfolio, which are often at odds with one another. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Kabil said that he while SME sector will be a priority for the government, he will also follow through on large national projects including the Golden Triangle, the furniture city in Damietta and the industrial leather project in Alrubiki, according to Daily News Egypt.

…unless you’re a domestic automotive assembler: The first ‘acid test’ will be whether Kabil presses forward with legislation that might protect the domestic automotive assembly industry from what it calls “unfair competition” in the form of Turkish, Moroccan and European Union models that enjoy preferential customs treatment. Abdelnour and the Federation of Egyptian Industries were backing an industry proposal to cut customs duties for domestic assemblers and replace tariffs on fully imported vehicles with a new sales tax from which local assemblers with at least 45% local content would be exempt. Some had also proposed a subsidy fund to reward assemblers that went further down the value chain into manufacturing. Two the questions: Will Kabil back the proposal? And if he does, is it something President Abdel Fattah El Sisi would enact, or defer to the House of Representatives once we have one?

Download the full, official list of cabinet ministers (DOCX file) or check out our tables summarizingwho’s in, what’s merged and who’s returning to their posts.

Otherwise notable this week:

• Hisham Zaazou is back as tourism minister, much to the delight of industry partners at home and abroad.
• Now-former Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab has been appointed the president’s “advisor for strategic national projects.”
• Our new man in Washington is Yasser Reda, previously ambassador to Tel Aviv and a veteran of postings in Germany, Italy, China, Iraq and Cyprus.
• More than a few would-be candidates won’t be running for election to the House of Reps afterflunking their drug tests.

THIS WEEK IN: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Story of the week: Egypt + IMF = TLA?

Last week, the IMF came to town for dinner and drinks — and more than a few probing questions. This past week, the Ismail government in turn let it (very subtly) be known that it thinks it has found a match.

Noting “positive economic developments since the mission’s last visit in Egypt,” Chris Jarvis, the IMF mission director in Egypt, issued a statement on talks with senior bureaucrats that took place 13-17 September. Jarvis pointed to progress on turning EEDC pledges into concrete projects, “continued resilience of the banking sector” and the suggestions that major economic indicator might be moving in the right direction.

The IMF mission then pointed to the now-standard components of any Egyptian cabinet’s to-do list, saying it would like to see movement on:

• Reform of fuel and electricity subsidies
• Implementation of the VAT
• Elimination of the parallel market for FX through a “gradual move toward a more flexible exchange rate policy”

Finance Minister Hani Dimian, back in cabinet following last week’s shuffle, said the Ismail government is “very satisfied” with the outcome of the IMF talks, noting the government expects formal Article IV consultations to take place next February or March. Throw in Planning Minister Ashraf Al Arabi’s remarks that an IMF assistance package would require sign-off from an elected parliament and it’s unlikely we’ll see an influx of funds from the IMF before next spring.

Otherwise notable this week

President to cabinet: Make foreign investors happy. The Ismail government’s cabinet economic group met with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Sunday for a discussion of their priorities, which the president suggested boiled down to two things: Ensure citizens have access to affordable medicine, fuel and food — and keep foreign investors happy. Ittihadiya’s readout on the meeting paid particular attention to cabinet’s need to attract new foreign direct investment, highlighting the Suez Canal development zone and the 1.5 mn feddan reclamation project.

Ramez, Salman not ready to be be BFFs: Central Bank of Egypt Governor Hisham Ramez is still steaming over Investment Minister Ashraf Salman’s most recent suggestion — made at Euromoney in early September — that Egypt would have to embrace devaluation. The CBE chief said in a television interview that Salman’s remarks were “unhelpful” and helped the USD gain ground on the parallel market.

Egypt may not have to share Zohr with Cyprus… Eni’s Zohr supergiant oilfield is the gift that keeps on giving. Following last week’s suggestion that the field’s proven reserves could ultimately be revised upward by as much as 50% came critical news that passed very quietly: The field does not spill over into Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), French oil and gas consulting and software solutions provider Beicip-Franlab says. In the event the field does overlap Total’s Cypriot Block 11, we’ll be looking for an amicable settlement given strong cooperation between Egypt and Cyprus following President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s charm offensive this year. Egypt and Cyprus discussed as recently as this summer cooperation in bringing Cypriot natural gas finds into Egyptian LNG terminals.

…but Eni may be sharing with Petroceltic and Edison: “The physical footprint of the discovery ‘may well’ crossover into Petroceltic’s 50% owned North Port Fouad block,” a note by Dublin-based broker Davy read. As veteran finance writer Patrick Werr noted a few weeks back: “Among the blocks to keep your eyes on are North Thekah, awarded in April 2013, and North Port Fouad, awarded in September last year, both to a joint venture between Italy’s Edison and Ireland’s Petroceltic. They contain extensive unexplored acreage smack in the middle of the massive Egyptian, Israeli and Cypriot finds. Meanwhile, we see Eni’s hand in this week’s announcement that Union Fenosa Gas may be ready to drop its arbitration case against Egypt. The JV, equally owned by Eni and Spain’s Gas natural, has suggested it would drop the case if allowed to import gas from Israel or was given access to gas from the Shorouk block to run its liquefaction plant in Damietta. The export plant has been idle since 2012.

An energy price test balloon? That’s how we’re interpreting a story in Al Borsa citing an anonymous EGAS official as saying the state-owned giant will provide fertilizer producers with 50% of their natural gas needs if they pay USD 9.00 per mmBTU, double the estimated USD 4.50 they pay today. The news comes in the run-up to the fall planting season for this winter’s harvest.

Startup types, take note: Fawry shareholders sell 73% of e-payments services company in EGP 571 mn transaction. Acquiring parties include Helios Investment Partners (an Africa-focused investment firm managing funds totaling more than USD 3 bn), the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund (a U.S. government private entity that invests to promote financial inclusion and job creation), and the MENA Long-Term Value Fund. Why should you care? BasharSoft’s recent raising of USD 1.7 mn in cash from European VCs in what was being billed as a Series A suggests Egypt is home to investible opportunities on a global scale. A late-stage exit to private equity players including Helios essentially closes the loop in a market in which the perennial knock against PE investment had always been the so-called “impossibility of exit” in an already illiquid asset class.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING FOR NEXT WEEK

Pope Tawadros II will visit Ethiopia on Sunday, 27 September, to mark the Feast of the Holy Cross, according to Ahram Online.

Campaigning for parliamentary elections starts on Tuesday, 29 September, and will run for 18 days, according to the spokesperson for the Higher Elections Committee, Aswat Masriya reports.

THE WEEKEND RECOMMENDATION

Throw your children in a locked room. Tell them they have 60 minutes to break out. Hope, for the first time in your life, that they’re slower than their peers. Real-life escape games, which moved out of Asia a few years back to take North America by storm, have arrived in Egypt. The best part? You can drop the kids off in either New Cairo (The Room) or Six October (BreakOut Egypt).

FROM THE ARCHIVES

This day in Enterprise history: One year ago yesterday, our first video was of news reporter Charlo Greene quitting her job live on air: (Watch, running time 34 seconds)

What has Greene been up to since? She successfully lobbied for the legalization of marijuana in Alaska and operated that state’s first and only pot shop — until she was evicted six months later for failing to get additional insurance in a timely manner. This woman is a highly watchable disaster. Watch her testimony here, (Watch, running time: 1:08) during the trial at which the judge ruled to evict her.

Greene: What is wine? I can’t define what wine is.

Prosecutor: Ok, I have no further questions for this witness, your honor.

If you’re in the Los Angeles area Sunday night, you can attend the launch party of her nonprofit advocacy / lobby group gogreene.org. The poster for the event may be viewed here.

SATURDAY FRIDAY MORNING CARTOONS

Well, it isn’t Saturday, but we can pretend. This section primarily targets those who need something to watch while eating their cereal. A little over one year ago, Saturday morning cartoons came to an end, according to the Washington Post, due to a combination of new media platforms and more stringent educational programming requirements. Before that, Saturday morning cartoons were a staple of American television from the 1960s all the way through to 30 September 2014. In the coming weeks, we’ll look at the best, worst and strangest this era in television history has left behind. In this week’s edition, we’ll take a brief look at the many voices of Chris Latta, who voiced the characters of Starscream on The Transformers, Cobra Commander on G.I. Joe, and D’Compose on The Inhumanoids. Latta, who passed away in 1994, and who worked mainly as a voice actor as well as in genre series such as Star Trek Deep Space Nine, also had a career as a standup comic. His comedic chops would often come through in the characters he portrayed, as may be sampled from the following:

• The rise and fall of Cobra Commander, as depicted in the G.I. Joe animated movie. (Watch, running time: 4:27)
• Starscream’s greatest moment. (Watch, running time: 17 seconds)
• The Waltz of D’Compose and Sandra Shore. (Watch, running time: 70 seconds)

THE WEEK’S MOST-CLICKED STORIES

The most-clicked stories in Enterprise in the past week were:

• Downloadable list of cabinet members + Enterprise’s summary of who’s in and who’s out (Read)
• World Bank profile of newly-appointed Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr. (Read)
• Cash will be king in 4Q2015, Pharos Research. (Read)
• Donald Trump: I love The Muslims. (Watch, running time: 48 seconds)

READ THIS

Whether you’re a geek, a feminist, a top exec in need of inspiration or just a fan of things intergalactic, there’s something for you in Fortune magazine’s profile of Kathleen Kennedy in ‘How the Star Wars producer went from secretary to studio boss.’ “Kennedy is the most prolific female filmmaker in Hollywood, having produced 77 movies in a nearly 40-year career. Her curriculum vitae is chock-full of sky-high-grossing and critically acclaimed blockbusters: Jurassic Park, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Schindler’s List, to name a few. Collectively these movies have raked in more than USD 11 bn in worldwide box-office sales and garnered 120 Academy Award nominations.”

One of Kennedy’s key decisions — one that will either make or break the new trilogy (critically at least, you can make any garbage and call it Star Wars and it will make money) — is her decision to hire Lost showrunner JJ Abrams, who is also currently in control of the Star Trek film series. For a sense of how demanding and vocal Star Wars fans can check out dearjjabrams.com where fans have posted an animated video addressed to Disney called ‘4 Rules to Make Star Wars Great Again,’ (Watch, running time: 2:16). The best point raised: “We don’t always need an explanation,” in reference to Lucas’ ridiculous mitochondria / midichlorian analogy in the prequel series. Until the new film is released on 18 December in the United States (15 January in Egypt) fans can check out promotional trailers, such as this 360 video released on Facebook on Wednesday, where viewers can click and drag on the screen to change the perspective, even when paused. (Watch, running time: 56 seconds)

Giant viruses dormant for thousands of years are emerging from melting Arctic ice. Thelatest one to be discovered — the fourth since 2003 — isn’t going to kill you. But it’s a reminder that if rising sea levels, crop failures and the other nastier scenarios attendant to climate change don’t get us, viruses that have slept for millennia just might. Even Nature, the most respected generalist magazine in science, is getting in on the act: “In what seems like a plot straight out of a low-budget science-fiction film, scientists have revived a giant virus that was buried in Siberian ice for 30,000 years — and it is still infectious. Its targets, fortunately, are amoebae, but the researchers suggest that as Earth’s ice melts, this could trigger the return of other ancient viruses, with potential risks for human health.”

High-profile figures drill deep into Egypt: Chris Schroeder, the U.S. author of Startup Rising (on startups in MENA) and tech / media investor and exec, is back with “Revisiting Flat6Labs: Startups Rising Across the Middle East, Four Years Late,” with shout-outs Ahmed Alfy, Hany Al-Sonbaty and Ramez Mohamed. Schroeder’s piece is one of what appears to be a month-long package of stories in Diplomatic Courier. Other installments include contributions from Anis Aclimandos and Hisham Fahmy (AmCham), David Thorne (State Department), Steve Bolze (GE Power & Water), Steve Lutes (US-Egypt Business Council), Ghada Waly (Social Solidarity Minister), andSultan Al Jaber (UAE minister of state), among others. The publication’s house authors handle three other pieces worth checking out, including Egypt’s Healthcare Revival (see our counterpoint, below),Rethinking Egypt’s wheat barns and Egypt, Tourism, and Coral Reefs

LISTEN TO THIS

Economics jokes don’t tend to do well: NPR’s Planet Money’s hosts went to a comedy club “to read a bunch of weird economics jokes.” They bombed. Terribly. Then, they enlisted the help of Tim Harford and used the show to explain the lessons behind their (hilariously unfunny) economics gags. You can listen to the whole episode here (listening time 14:00).

ENTREPRENEURS

How to Write a Great Business Plan, William A. Sahlman, Harvard Business Review. This classic from HBR’s 1997 issue still holds up, with Sahlman offering a framework for what makes a good business plan: the people; the opportunity; the context and risk and reward. “When I receive a business plan, I always read the résumé section first … because without the right team, none of the other parts really matters … the people part of a business plan should receive special care because, simply stated, that’s where most intelligent investors focus their attention … if there is nothing solid about [the team’s] experience and abilities to herald, then the entrepreneurial team should think again about launching the venture.” (Read)

Can You Predict a Startup’s Success Based on the Concept Alone? Walter Frick, HBR. Frick writes on a recent academic paper published in July 2015, which drew on a dataset of 652 ventures from MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service to answer the question: “Does the initial idea matter at all to a startup’s success?” Among the study’s findings: “For R&D-intensive ventures, the relationship between mentor interest and commercialization was even stronger, particularly when the idea was based on academic research or intellectual property. But for software and consumer goods, the relationship was no longer statistically significant.” (Read)

Upcoming deadlines and events:

• 27 September: Application deadline to sign up for ‘Launch Your Own Creative Business – Training Programme for Entrepreneurs,’ organized by the Swedish Institute in Alexandria in cooperation with the British Council. The programme will run in Alexandria from 18-21 October. (Apply here)
• 27 September: Deadline for entries for social incubator Nahdet el Mahrousa’s next startup round, focusing on poverty alleviation. (Apply here)
• 8 October: Deadline for She Entrepreneurs training and mentoring program for women under 36 from the MENA region (sans GCC). The program is run by the Swedish Institute. (Apply here)
• 22 October: TechWadi Roadshow: Connecting Silicon Valley Pioneers with Rising Entrepreneurs, by Google for Entrepreneurs. The TechWadi’s Roadshow will stop by Amman, Beirut, Dubai and Cairo, and will feature professionals from Facebook, Google and Yahoo as well as a number of founders of Silicon Valley startups. The Cairo leg of the roadshow will be a one-day event on 22 October, with the venue to be announced. (Sign up here)
• 12-13 December: RiseUp Summit 2015: The largest and most significant event for startups in Egypt of the year is the RiseUp Summit, held at the Greek Campus in downtown Cairo. A who’s who of both experienced startup types and wannabes as well as top regional and global investors and industry players will be on hand. (Register here)

HEALTH

Scumbag ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli is a symptom of a greater problem in the healthcare industry: Martin Shkreli, who in the past few days has come to dominate social media for his company’s decision to purchase the anti-parasitic Daraprim, often used for those with weakened immune systems such as cancer and AIDS patients, and increase the price from roughly USD 13.50 to USD 750, has earned the nickname “pharma bro,” in James Hamblin’s piece for the Atlantic ‘Pharma Bro Is the Face of U.S. Health Care.’ With an economy of words Hamblin digs deep into the story, highlighting the fact that the patent for the drug expired decades ago. Speaking to a patent attorney, Hamblin writes “…it’s simply not worth the investment for most companies to take up a low-volume drug that sells at a low price. Daraprim was a low-volume drug selling at a low price. If another company wants to start selling generic pyrimethamine, it could drive the price of brand-name Daraprim back down. But that generic company wouldn’t make much money, so why bother?” The article gets at the heart of the story by illustrating how it is symptomatic of larger failings of the healthcare industry.

For something lighter from Hamblin, the occasional video from his series “If Our Bodies Could Talk” is sometimes enjoyable, such as The Absurd Psychology of Restaurant Menus. (Watch,running time: 4:49)

Lighter still (kinda): “Why Everything Is Bad for You,” by Jim Windolf in the New York Times. “When I was growing up … the usual lunch for me was a sandwich consisting of Wonder Bread spread thick with Land O’ Lakes butter, a wad of Oscar Mayer bologna and a slice of American cheese. The beverage was whole milk, Tang or Coke. A stack of salty Pringles rounded off the meal. Even if I had known back then that people who eat a lot of processed meat tend to die of heart diseaseor cancer, and that processed cheese is held together by emulsifiers that may lead to kidney problems, and that white bread has almost zero nutritional value, and that soft drinks are sludge, and that Pringles may not qualify as potato chips, I wouldn’t have cared. I had a lot on my mind, what with school and all the playing, and I had yet to develop the fear of death.”

ON YOUR WAY OUT

Don’t be fooled by the hair, tattoos, nose ring, or the beard. YouTube singer Anthony Vincent Valbiro has got every vocal style from pop to rock to lounge on lock. Valbiro has one of a kind skill to channel our favorite musicians, from Nirvana, Iron Maiden, Michael Jackson, the Doors, Red Hot Chili Peppers, to Frank Sinatra, Pavarotti, Jamiroquai … and John Mayer, of course. YouTube Channel Ten Second Songs was a way of putting Valbiro’s music production and vocal techniques on display for businesses and individuals who were interested in voice-over work. His cover of Linkin Park’s In The End is an impressive performance in 20 different styles. (Watch, running time 4:15)

Oh, and we’re going to sing Happy Birthday to ourselves without worrying that we’ll need to pay a royalty to Warner Bros.: “None of the companies that have collected royalties on the “Happy Birthday” song for the past 80 years held a valid copyright claim to one of the most popular songs in history, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled on Tuesday,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

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