Happy Birthday Is Copyrighted
A federal judge has ruled that the happy birthday song is no longer owned by warner/chappell music and belongs in the public domain. None of the early appearances of the happy birthday to you lyrics included credits or copyright notices. The summy company registered a copyright in 1935, crediting authors preston ware orem and mrs. In 2016, a u. s. Federal court ruled that happy birthday to you was in the public domain, ending decades of royalty collections and freeing the song for unrestricted public use.
With happy birthday now in the public domain, individuals and commercial entities can freely use, perform, and record the song without legal restrictions. Warner chappell argued that happy birthday to you had been protected by a legal copyright since 1935, noting that it would hold the copyright to the lyrics until 2013. This article explores the origins of the happy birthday song, the landmark legal cases that impacted its copyright status, and the lasting implications for its use today. While the lyrics are free to use, specific arrangements and recordings of happy birthday remain copyrighted and require proper licensing.
