Without the court judgement, it would not have been freely available in the public domain in the US until 2030, and in the EU until 31 December 2016. Happy Birthday was written by sisters Parry and Mildred Hill in 1893, and is often claimed to be the world’s most popular song. Jay Morgenstern, then executive vice president of the Warner Chappell Music Group, told the New York Times a year after the acquisition the song had proved “a very good investment”.
Warner Chappell Music has been enforcing the copyright claim since it bought Summy’s successor, Birchtree Ltd, in 1988. Speaking to CBSLA, Plaintiff Rupa Marya welcomes the ruling on Happy Birthday GuardianĪmong the plaintiffs was film-maker Jennifer Nelson, who was told she would have to pay $1,500 USD in order to include Happy Birthday in a documentary she was making about its history.
