Categories: Stories

Happy Birthday To You

1988

Warner owns Happy Birthday
Warner Music becomes owners of the song and benefits from its reported $2 million annual royalties. The Hill Foundation, set up in the sisters’ honor, has collected half of all royalties since 1893, with some going to their nephew Archibald, after Patty’s death in 1946.

2010

Questions raised over ownership
Robert Brauneis publishes his paper, ‘Copyright and the World’s Most Popular Song’, bringing the Hills’ ownership of the melody into dispute.

2013

Happy Birthday goes to court
Filmmaker Jennifer Nelson files a lawsuit against Warner Music after they charged her $1500 to make a film about the song and include a clip of it.

2015

Happy Birthday becomes royalty-free

A US judge rules ‘Happy Birthday to you’ is not under copyright. The ruling means royalties will no longer have to be paid to Warner Music for use of the popular song.

Now Happy Birthday has returned to the public domain, you can expect to hear it far more frequently on films, adverts, and TV shows.

If you like this story, SHARE this story. If you want to comment, we would love to hear what you have to say in the comment section below!

SOURCE:

The Telegraph: Happy Birthday Song And Its Strange Past

RELATED:

At 71, Cher Bares Almost All

Actors Who Shined As JFK

 

Related posts:

  1. Faith Hill Tracked Down Her Birth Mom And Learned Her Adoptive Parents Lied To Her For Years Faith Hill and Tim McGraw are hosting a meet-and-greet before...
  2. RIP Garry Marshall Famed director, producer and sometimes actor Garry Marshall has died....
  3. 15 Songs From The 60s That Will Instantly Take You Back In Time And Put You In A Groovy Mood Let's take a trip down music memory lane!...
  4. Top 20 Countdown Of Our Favorite One-Hit-Wonders From The 70s They might have only had just had one hit, but...

Previous 4 of 4

K. Gitter

Show comments
Share
Published by
K. Gitter
7 years ago

Recent Posts

‘All in the Family’: Norman Lear Created Maude to Have Someone Who Could ‘Destroy’ Archie Bunker

Television characters are created for all sorts of reasons, but when Norman Lear came up…

4 years ago

George Clooney’s Quarantine Endorsement Helps Flowbee Sales Skyrocket

When salons and barbershops started closing, the future of people's hair became uncertain. Some braved…

4 years ago

Remembering The Cast Of ‘Bewitched’ Then And Now 2020

UPDATED 12/15/020 Bewitched originally aired from September 17th, 1964 to March 25th, 1972, and still…

4 years ago

‘Grease’ Will Be Added To The National Film Registry This Year

The popular 1978 musical film Grease will finally be added to the National Film Registry.…

4 years ago

52 Years After Conquering Addiction, Danny Trejo Stars In PSA To Help Others Do The Same

Danny Trejo's rise to stardom began with dubious circumstances. He utilized tricks he learned in…

4 years ago

Sharon Osbourne Has Been Hospitalized For Coronavirus

Sharon Osbourne revealed that she has tested positive for coronavirus on social media. She also…

4 years ago