# Cecil missed the copyright expiration date for "Happy Birthday" by 20 years

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-missed-the-copyright-expiration-date-for-happy-birthday-by-20-years/123701>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [August 13, 2002, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-missed-the-copyright-expiration-date-for-happy-birthday-by-20-years/123701 "2002-08-13T15:19:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-missed-the-copyright-expiration-date-for-happy-birthday-by-20-years/123701/1 "2002-08-13T15:19:23Z")

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In his July 28, 200 column, [Are blue jays not really blue? Plus: has the copyright on “Happy Birthday” expired yet?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000728.html) Cecil incorrectly stated that the U.S. opyright to the perenial “Happy Birthday to You” was slated to expire as of the year 2010. This had been true under the 75-year term provided by the Howver, in 1998 the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act tacked on another 20 years to existing copyrights, so at the time the column appeared the song’s copyright actually had been extended to 2030. (The constitutionality of the Bono Act extensions will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court as _Eldred v. Ashcroft_ in October, but I wouldn’t bet any money that it will be overturned).

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**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-missed-the-copyright-expiration-date-for-happy-birthday-by-20-years/123701/2 "2002-08-13T15:26:03Z")

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Unfortunately, I accidentally hit “post” instead of “preview” before I could finish editing my post above. But, in summation, at the time Cecil’s column appeared the U.S. copyright term had already been increased from 75 to 95 years, thus the copyright expiration date for the song should have been stated as 2030 rather than 2010.