Happy Birthday" is now free
According to what we know from history, "Happy Birthday" was written by Patty Hill, a kindergartenteacher in the US state of Kentucky back in 1893.
It has become a tradition around the world and has always been free for us to sing at our birthday celebrations.
If you are a musician, however, and want to record the song commercially, you may find a bill in the mail – until yesterday, that is.
The music publisher Warner/Chappell Music has longclaimed it owned the copyright to the song and has actually tried to collect fees from artists using it for albums and videos.
Yesterday a US judge put a stop to that.
US Federal judge George King in Los Angeles ruled that the copyright claim was invalid and put the song in the public domain.
“This is a huge victory for the public and for the artistswho want to use ‘Happy Birthday to You’ in their videos and music,’” lawyer Daniel Schacht said.
He represented plaintiffs in a class-action suit filed in 2013 after the producers of a low-budget documentaryabout the song’s history balked at the $1,500 (53,000 baht) the publisher demanded for its use.
“Everyone who has a birthday can celebrate,” he said.
Rupa Marya, one of the plaintiffs in the case and leader of a California band that had been asked to pay $455 to use Happy Birthday on one of its albums, hailedMonday’s settlement as a key moment for the musicindustry.
“It’s nice to know the song is officially liberated,” she told reporters as she sang 'Happy Birthday' outside the courthouse while playing the guitar.
Happy Birthday" is now freeAccording to what we know from history, "Happy Birthday" was written by Patty Hill, a kindergartenteacher in the US state of Kentucky back in 1893. It has become a tradition around the world and has always been free for us to sing at our birthday celebrations. If you are a musician, however, and want to record the song commercially, you may find a bill in the mail – until yesterday, that is. The music publisher Warner/Chappell Music has longclaimed it owned the copyright to the song and has actually tried to collect fees from artists using it for albums and videos. Yesterday a US judge put a stop to that. US Federal judge George King in Los Angeles ruled that the copyright claim was invalid and put the song in the public domain. “This is a huge victory for the public and for the artistswho want to use ‘Happy Birthday to You’ in their videos and music,’” lawyer Daniel Schacht said. He represented plaintiffs in a class-action suit filed in 2013 after the producers of a low-budget documentaryabout the song’s history balked at the $1,500 (53,000 baht) the publisher demanded for its use. “Everyone who has a birthday can celebrate,” he said. Rupa Marya, one of the plaintiffs in the case and leader of a California band that had been asked to pay $455 to use Happy Birthday on one of its albums, hailedMonday’s settlement as a key moment for the musicindustry. “It’s nice to know the song is officially liberated,” she told reporters as she sang 'Happy Birthday' outside the courthouse while playing the guitar.
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