I apologize for the brief pause in posts, thanksgiving was also my birthday and I was spending time with love ones. But my birthday brought to my attention a recent case regarding the happy birthday song.

The happy birthday song was written by a teacher and her sister, who sold it to a publishing company in the late 1800s. The company registered the copyright in 1935. However, a group of filmmakers, obviously sick of paying to use the song, argue that the copyright is invalid and the song is public domain. 

In the first part of the case, the filmmakers argued about what parts of the song were actually transferred from the sisters to the company. The judge found that the copyright covered the melody, including the piano composition or sheet music. Warner/Chappell, the company that “inherited” the copyright from the original company, argued that the copyright also covered the lyrics and protected the entire use of the song. 

However, the judge found that the lyrics were not covered by the original copyright, which means only the music was protected. So, if someone were to use the happy birthday song without using the original music, that song would not be infringing on the copyright and would not require payment to the company. 

However, the filmmakers are arguing that the song is public domain. Public domain is the legal equivalent to saying that no one owns the copyright and it is free to use the song. There are many more decisions that must be made before the court can determine if happy birthday is public domain. I personally think that this is a holiday that happens everyday, and is agreed on by most religions that don’t agree. Why would it not belong to the public?