# The song "Happy Birthday" is owned by Warner Bros & they require payment to sing it or they will sue
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-happy-birthday-is-owned-by-warner-bros-they-require-payment-to-sing-it-or-they-will-sue/510993
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [September 21, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-happy-birthday-is-owned-by-warner-bros-they-require-payment-to-sing-it-or-they-will-sue/510993 "2009-09-21T21:15:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-happy-birthday-is-owned-by-warner-bros-they-require-payment-to-sing-it-or-they-will-sue/510993/1 "2009-09-21T21:15:48Z")
Interesting
[Happy Birthday to You](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You)
> [@](#):
>
> The melody of “Happy Birthday to You” comes from the song “Good Morning to All”, which was written and composed by American sisters Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill in 1893.[3] They were both kindergarten school teachers in Louisville, Kentucky, developing various teaching methods at what is now the Little Loomhouse.[2][4], pp. 4–15 The sisters created “Good Morning to All” as a song that would be easy to sing by young children[2], p. 14. The combination of melody and lyrics in “Happy Birthday to You” first appeared in print in 1912, and probably existed even earlier.[2], pp. 31–32 None of these early appearances included credits or copyright notices. The Summy Company registered for copyright in 1935, crediting authors Preston Ware Orem and Mrs. R.R. Forman. In 1990, Warner Chappell purchased the company owning the copyright for US$15 million, with the value of “Happy Birthday” estimated at US$5 million.[5] Based on the 1935 copyright registration, Warner claims that U.S. copyright won’t expire until 2030, and that unauthorized public performances of the song are technically illegal unless royalties are paid to it.
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### Author:  [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-happy-birthday-is-owned-by-warner-bros-they-require-payment-to-sing-it-or-they-will-sue/510993/2 "2009-09-21T21:39:46Z")
Cecil wrote about this a few years ago: [Are blue jays not really blue? Plus: has the copyright on “Happy Birthday” expired yet? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2345/are-blue-jays-not-really-blue-plus)
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### Author:  [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-happy-birthday-is-owned-by-warner-bros-they-require-payment-to-sing-it-or-they-will-sue/510993/3 "2009-09-22T00:16:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> **The song “Happy Birthday” is owned by Warner Bros & they require payment to sing it or they will sue**
That’s a bit misleading. Disentangling the various brand names is a little tricky, but it appears that the publishing rights are claimed by [Warner/Chappell](http://www.warnerchappell.com/wcm_2/about_2.jsp?menu_status=about), part of Warners Music Group, which incorporates several different labels, including Warner Bros. Music, but is no longer affiliated with [Time Warner](http://www.timewarner.com/corp/aboutus/fact_sheet.html) (Warner Bros. Studios, AOL, Time Magazine, DC Comics, etc.)
[It’s not altogether clear](http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1111624) that the claim is valid. For use in movies and TV shows, studios would probably rather pay a few thousands dollars than expose themselves to any legal liability, but is there any case of Warner/Chappell actually suing and prevailing in court on the issue? My guess is that they would rather not push the issue too far.
In any case, no one is going to be sued for singing it a private party.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-happy-birthday-is-owned-by-warner-bros-they-require-payment-to-sing-it-or-they-will-sue/510993/4 "2009-09-22T02:39:05Z")
And the song predates the lyrics, so you can play the music without paying royalties.
OTOH, you can use the lyrics to the Beatles “Golden Slumbers” without paying royalties (with a slight change) since McCartney took them from a PD poem. The music, though, is protected.
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### Author:  [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-happy-birthday-is-owned-by-warner-bros-they-require-payment-to-sing-it-or-they-will-sue/510993/5 "2009-09-22T02:43:50Z")
This is why corporate chain restaurants like TGIFriday’s, Chili’s, etc., always have their own goofy version of a birthday song which they make their employees sing to patrons.
I hated doing it and never understood why anybody would want a bunch of strangers to be forced to sing to them. But I digress.
Sometimes tables would sing the original birthday song, but employees weren’t allowed, we were told, because of “copyright issues.”
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-happy-birthday-is-owned-by-warner-bros-they-require-payment-to-sing-it-or-they-will-sue/510993/6 "2009-09-22T05:04:59Z")
> [@Audrey\_Levins](#):
>
> This is why corporate chain restaurants like TGIFriday’s, Chili’s, etc., always have their own goofy version of a birthday song which they make their employees sing to patrons.
>
> I hated doing it and never understood why anybody would want a bunch of strangers to be forced to sing to them. But I digress.
>
> Sometimes tables would sing the original birthday song, but employees weren’t allowed, we were told, because of “copyright issues.”
We generally do it to embarrass the birthday guy/girl\*. And because it’s often cheaper than actually buying them a cake.
\*It seems to be some sort of tradition to tease someone on their birthday. And, as much as they protest, many people seem to enjoy it.
OP: It seems odd that the person who owned the melody got the rights to completely different lyrics. And that they kept the rights to those lyrics even after the melody went public domain.
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### Author:  [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-happy-birthday-is-owned-by-warner-bros-they-require-payment-to-sing-it-or-they-will-sue/510993/7 "2009-09-22T09:47:41Z")
Hm. Nothing written in 1912 should still be public domain anyway. This is just aching for a case to bust it open.
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### Author:  [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-happy-birthday-is-owned-by-warner-bros-they-require-payment-to-sing-it-or-they-will-sue/510993/8 "2009-09-22T13:18:05Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#):
>
> OTOH, you can use the lyrics to the Beatles “Golden Slumbers” without paying royalties (with a slight change) since McCartney took them from a PD poem.
More than slight. The “Once there was a way to get back homeward” part is original, and McCartney changed a couple of words of the four lines he did swipe. From [Art Thou Poor](https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/html/1807/4350/poem628.html) by Thomas Dekker:
_Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,
Smiles awake you when you rise.
Sleep, pretty wantons, do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby:
Rock them, rock them, lullaby.
Care is heavy, therefore sleep you;
You are care, and care must keep you.
Sleep, pretty wantons, do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby:
Rock them, rock them, lullaby._