Tuesdays with Media: the Happy Birthday song

The song we all sing on someone's birthday has been in a strange position, legally speaking, for quite some time.  Despite the melody having been around since at least the late nineteenth century, the combination of the words and music together was considered unique enough that the song was copyrighted in 1935.  That meant that the song could not be sung in any commercial settings without obtaining permission (and paying licensing fees) to the copyright holder.

For a long time, no one took the copyright that seriously, but then in 1988, Warner/Chappell Music bought the copyright.  Since Warner/Chappell Music is a division of Warner Bros., even the threat of being sued was enough for everyone to stop using the song.  If you notice, from that time until the present, movies and TV shows rarely show anyone singing the happy birthday song -- sometimes using a new song, sometimes editing around when the characters would be singing -- and when I was a waiter, we had to use a different song when customers requested we celebrate with them.  Even the Children's Songbook by the Church has a different, non-copyrighted birthday song in it.  Such an odd circumstance for the most recognizable song in the English language, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Back in 2013, a couple of lawsuits were filed against Warner/Chappell Music, contesting that the company did not, in fact, own the exclusive rights to the song, though the lawsuits were eventually combined into one.  The basis of the lawsuit was that since the melody, which originally appeared in the song "Good Morning to All," was in the public domain, then no one could own the song "Happy Birthday to You" because the lyrics of both songs are nearly exactly the same.  Apparently the judge agreed, because on September 22, 2015, just two weeks ago, the song "Happy Birthday to You" was declared to be in the public domain.

Sort of.  The judge ruled that Warner/Chappell Music failed to adequately prove to own the copyright to the song, so the company no longer owns the song.  Since this is a bureaucratic process, it's moving slowly.  I'm going to guess that the song will be public domain in a couple of years, but until then, it's in a sort of legal limbo.  However, feel free to record yourself singing the song and publish your recording wherever you like: since no one owns the song, no one has the power to order you to cease and desist.