The American publishing house Warner/Chapel Music has just agreed to settle a class action lawsuit filed in 2013 by film artists and directors, who had to pay royalties each time they wanted to use the lyrics of this song. The agreement will be ratified on March 14, 2016 before a California judge.
Happy Birthday" was originally a children's rhyme called "Good Morning To All", but the lyrics were changed to become the song we know today. The Hill sisters, originally from Kentucky, composed the tune and lyrics in 1893, and assigned the copyrights to the melody and arrangements to their publishing company, Clayton F Summy Company. The latter was bought out in 1998 by Warner/Chapel Music, which claimed the copyright on the lyrics.
However, the judge did not hear it this way: in September 2015, he ruled that since no one had provided him with certain proof that the Hill sisters were indeed the authors of the song, nor that they had assigned the rights to Clayton F Summy Company, Warner/Chapel Music could not be considered the owner of the song.
Except that these so-called copyrights have so far represented a considerable windfall for Warner/Chapel Music, which collected about $2 million a year in royalties.
Finally, the agreement provides that Warner/Chapel Music will admit that these lyrics are now in the public domain and will pay $14 million in damages, which will be distributed to those who had to pay undue royalties for using the lyrics of this song.