Sing your hearts out! Federal judge rules ‘Happy Birthday’ song in public domain

The music publishing company that has been collecting royalties on the song 'Happy Birthday To You’ for years does not hold a valid copyright on the lyrics to the tune that is one of the mostly widely sung in the world, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. U.S. District Judge George H. King determined the song’s original copyright, obtained by the Clayton F. Summy Co. from the song’s writers, only covered specific piano arrangements of the song and not its lyrics. The basic tune of the song, derived from another popular children’s song, “Good Morning to All,” has long been in the public domain.King’s decision comes in a lawsuit filed two years ago by Good Morning To You Productions Corp.

Because Summy Co. never acquired the rights to the 'Happy Birthday’ lyrics, defendants, as Summy Co.’ s purported successors-in-interest, do not own a valid copyright in the Happy Birthday lyrics.

Judge George H. King.

That song was written by sisters Mildred Hill and Patty Hill sometime before 1893, the judge said, adding that the sisters assigned the rights to it and other songs to Clayton F. Summy, who copyrighted and published them in a book titled Song Stories for the Kindergarten. “The origins of the lyrics to Happy Birthday (the 'Happy Birthday lyrics’) are less clear,” the judge continued, adding the first known reference to them appeared in a 1901 article in the Inland Educator and Indiana School Journal.The full lyrics themselves, King said, didn’t appear in print until 1911.

Happy Birthday song Arts