Happy Birthday started as a teachers way of greeting her class, under the name "Good Morning to All" by Mildred Hill in 1893. "Happy Birthday to You" lyrics replaced the original lyrics, and was first published by Robert Coleman in 1924. Jessica Hill (Mildred's sister) sued for likeness to the melody of "Good Morning to All" and won, gaining the rights to "Happy Birthday to You" in 1934.
Hill and the Clayton F. Summy Company published "Happy Birthday" in 1935, securing it's copyright until 2030. John F. Sengstack bought the Clayton F. Summy Company in the late 1930's and eventually renamed it Birch Tree Ltd. in the 1970's, which was then bought by a division of Warner Communications and renamed Summy-Birchard Music. "Happy Birthday" now earns $2 MILLION dollars every year from royalties, not only from music publications or films using the song, but also from bars and restaurants who allow their guests to sing this auditory gem.
You would think that no one really cares, but
HERE is a group of citizens who are outraged, not because the most popular song in the English-speaking world is copyrighted, but because so many people infringe on the songs copyright every day.
They call themselves "a grassroots project run by citizens who are outraged by rampant copyright infringement... in relation to the song
'Happy Birthday'."
They actually provide contact info and a sample form letter to snitch on those who sing "Happy Birthday" in public or to confess your illegal deed to the ASCAP if you're feeling guilty. And, no surprise, these fools also set up a
STORE to sell merchandise blanketed with their logo, declaring their frustration with folks who choose to "pirate" "Happy Birthday".
What the fuck?
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