Happy Birthday Song Is Copyrighted
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. A federal judge has ruled that the happy birthday song is no longer owned by warner/chappell music and belongs in the public domain. Following the courts decision, the happy birthday song entered the public domain. Public domain signifies a work is no longer protected by copyright and can be freely used without permission or royalties.
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. The copyright to happy birthday to you is ruled invalid by a us judge, meaning an end to royalty payments for public performances of the song.
