# Happy Birthday song is now public domain!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [September 23, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262 "2015-09-23T02:26:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262/1 "2015-09-23T02:26:22Z")
[_Happy Birthday_ is now public domain!
> [@](#):
>
> U.S. District Judge George H. King ruled Tuesday that the copyright originally filed by the Clayton F. Summy Co. in 1935 granted only the rights to specific arrangements of the tune and not the actual song itself.
>
> In invalidating the copyright, King ruled that Summy never acquired the rights to the song’s lyrics.
]([http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4ef3d7182b7e44eb81ccd1b75593ae82/federal-judge-rules-happy-birthday-song-public-domain](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4ef3d7182b7e44eb81ccd1b75593ae82/federal-judge-rules-happy-birthday-song-public-domain))
Everybody SING! 😃
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### Author:  [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2015, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262/2 "2015-09-23T02:43:41Z")
Wow:
> [@](#):
>
> A federal judge has ruled that the music publishing company that has been collecting royalties for the song “Happy Birthday To You” does not hold a valid copyright to the popular tune that is sung worldwide.
I wonder when they’re going to return all the royalties they have collected since 1935.
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262/3 "2015-09-23T02:45:50Z")
Do you hear 80 years of lawsuits marching down courthouse hallways?
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### Author:  [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2015, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262/4 "2015-09-23T03:52:55Z")
It’s a great day for anyone with a birthday.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2015, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262/5 "2015-09-23T12:48:43Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#):
>
> It’s a great day for anyone with a birthday.
It’s a great day for makers of movies, TV shows, and more recent media, who no longer have to worry about paying royalties on a song that should’ve long ago been in the public domain.
I foresee a lot of birthday celebrations on TV this year.
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### Author:  [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262/6 "2015-09-23T13:08:03Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> It’s a great day for makers of movies, TV shows, and more recent media, who no longer have to worry about paying royalties on a song that should’ve long ago been in the public domain.
> I foresee a lot of birthday celebrations on TV this year.
Will the judge’s ruling affect the copyright status outside the US? If not and you want to show your TV show or movie outside the US, you might need to proceed with caution.
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262/7 "2015-09-23T13:18:10Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#):
>
> Will the judge’s ruling affect the copyright status outside the US? If not and you want to show your TV show or movie outside the US, you might need to proceed with caution.
Nope, his ruling affects every country, re: Berne Convention.
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### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262/8 "2015-09-26T19:39:48Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#):
>
> Nope, his ruling affects every country, re: Berne Convention.
Something I’ve been wondering about this whole thing:
The media have been referring to “Happy Birthday to You” as “the most popular song in the English Language,” and mentioning its world-wide popularity. But if the song has been suppressed in film and television so much because of the copyright claims, I’m curious how it gathered so much popularity outside the U.S.? Just by world of mouth? I’ve had it sung to me in other countries–somewhat altered–and wonder how it has gotten around so much.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2015, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262/9 "2015-09-26T21:25:23Z")
This legal scholar disagrees that the judge’s ruling places the song in the public domain. It does something close to that, but not the same thing.
[http://www.loweringthebar.net/2015/09/have-you-ever-paid-royalties-for-singing-happy-birthday-to-you.html](http://www.loweringthebar.net/2015/09/have-you-ever-paid-royalties-for-singing-happy-birthday-to-you.html)
I know I’m not competent to assess his interpretation. But overall I like his blog and his reasoning a lot. And have for several years.
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### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2015, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262/10 "2015-09-26T21:56:32Z")
Note that in US copyright law, there is a 3 year limit on recovering damages going the other way: suing an infringer. Not sure what the limit is for this direction, but it won’t be decades, that’s for sure.
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262/11 "2015-09-27T02:36:05Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> This legal scholar disagrees that the judge’s ruling places the song in the public domain. It does something close to that, but not the same thing.
>
> [http://www.loweringthebar.net/2015/09/have-you-ever-paid-royalties-for-singing-happy-birthday-to-you.html](http://www.loweringthebar.net/2015/09/have-you-ever-paid-royalties-for-singing-happy-birthday-to-you.html)
>
> I know I’m not competent to assess his interpretation. But overall I like his blog and his reasoning a lot. And have for several years.
Aye, that’s a good write up and yeah, Mr. Underhill’s blog is generally excellent.
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### Author:  [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262/12 "2015-10-01T23:37:24Z")
There was a version of “Happy Birthday to You” (with the music and lyrics) found that had been published in 1922. Everything published in the United States prior to 1923 is automatically public domain, period, no argument possible.
It was nice that the judge explained all the other reasons why the copyright was invalid also, but that fact alone, suppressed by Warner/Chappell Music until it was discovered by the other side very late in the lawsuit, makes the case a slam dunk. The legal scholar in the link a couple of posts ago missed that too.
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### Author:  [@Futurist110](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futurist110)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-song-is-now-public-domain/732262/13 "2015-10-03T23:27:29Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#):
>
> [_Happy Birthday_ is now public domain!](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4ef3d7182b7e44eb81ccd1b75593ae82/federal-judge-rules-happy-birthday-song-public-domain)
> Everybody SING! 😃
Great news! 😃