How many times have you sung “Happy Birthday”? Imagine how many times everyone in the world has sung that well-known party song over the last 80 years. That’s a lot of birthday well wishes! Now think of paying a fee every time the song is sung. That’s a lot of money.
But that’s exactly what one music publishing company expected—payment for each singing of the world’s most common song.
Now a judge in California has declared “Happy Birthday” to be public domain.
Hoorah! Let’s have a party. But what does all of the “Happy Birthday” hoopla mean?
Copyright
Copyright is a legal term meaning exactly what it says: the right to copy. Creative artists own that right for their works. Copyrighted art, music, writing, architecture—and many other things—cannot legally be copied, recorded, used, or performed without an agreement.
If you write a story and someone wants to use it to make a movie or a recording, that person is supposed to ask you. And you have the right to require payment for your work. The payment is called a royalty.
Photographs, short stories, paintings, gadgets, computer software—all have (or had) copyrights. Copyrights last for many years. After that, works often enter the public domain.
Public Domain
“Public domain” is another legal term. It describes something that belongs to a whole community. That is, no one person owns it. Works in the public domain often have expired copyrights. The original artists are usually long dead. Shakespeare’s plays, Jane Austen’s novels, Van Gogh’s paintings, and Mozart’s piano concertos are in the public domain.
What’s the Problem with the Song?
In the case of “Happy Birthday,” the tune isn’t the issue. The basic melody came from a pre-1900 children’s song, “Good Morning to All.” That tune has been public domain for many years. Two sisters named Mildred and Patty Hill wrote the song before 1893. So the words should be in the public domain too.
Here’s where things get crazy. Since 1935, all public performances of the peppy party song have required a royalty payment to a music publisher.
Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., claimed it bought the “Happy Birthday” copyright. It paid another music company which supposedly bought the rights from the Hill sisters. But that original company, it seems, bought only the piano arrangement—not the lyrics—from the sisters.
Since 1988, Warner/Chappell has collected nearly $5,000 a day in royalties. The company received a royalty every time someone sang the song for profit in film, television, radio, or in recordings. Some people estimate “Happy Birthday” has earned more money than any other song in history.
End of Copyright
This fall, U.S. District Judge George King ruled that the copyright covered only certain piano arrangements of “Happy Birthday”—not the words.
The court’s ruling means no one has to pay Warner/Chappell ever again—and never needed to. Oops.
So next time you blow out the candles, sing “Happy Birthday,” and record it and upload a video. You’re now free to eat your cake and sing about it too.
