Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over ‘Happy Birthday’ Song Copyright

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A class action lawsuit has been filed against Warner Music Group Corp. accusing the company of falsely claiming copyright ownership of the famous “Happy Birthday to You” song.

The proposed class action lawsuit was filed on Thursday, June 13, in a New York federal court. In the complaint, plaintiffs allege the “Happy Birthday” song belongs in the public domain.

Good Morning to You Productions Corp. (GMTY), a production company that is currently creating a documentary film about the song, claims that Warner has unlawfully collected millions of dollars in licensing fees from the “Happy Birthday” song. They allege that Warner has wrongfully claimed to own exclusive right to control the distribution, reproductions and performances of the song. They have filed the class action lawsuit in response to Warner’s demand that it pay a licensing fee of $1,500 to use the song in its documentary.

In the class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim, “Irrefutable documentary evidence, some dating back to 1893, shows that the copyright to ‘Happy Birthday to You,’ if there ever was a valid copyright to any part of that song, expired no later than 1921.” In fact, the tune for the “Happy Birthday” song came from “Good Morning to All,” a 19th century children’s song by sisters Mildred J. Hill and Patty Smith Hill. The Hill sisters sold their rights to more than 70 songs, including “Good Morning to All,” to Clayton F. Summy in 1893. According to the plaintiffs, Summy published “Good Morning to All” in a songbook called “Song Stories for the Kindergarten.” Summy filed a copyright application for this songbook in 1893.

According to the class action lawsuit, the “Happy Birthday” song did not appear in the original Summy songbook or in any later publications. People began singing “Happy Birthday to You” to the tune of “Good Morning to All” around 1901, though the lyrics were not published until 1911.

The first copyright claims to the “Happy Birthday” song arose in 1934 when Summy Co. III filed the first of six copyright applications for the song. The next year, the company filed a copyright application for a specific piano arrangement of the song. Warner has allegedly asserted it rights to the “Happy Birthday” song based on that 1935 filing. According to the plaintiffs, Warner’s copyrights for the “Happy Birthday” song were either expired or forfeited. Alternatively, the copyrights were invalid because, except for the piano arrangements, Warner’s copyrights did not contain “original works of authorship.”

Warner collects approximately $2 million annually in licensing fees from the birthday song. GMTY has filed the class action lawsuit on behalf of anyone who entered into a license for the “Happy Birthday” song in the last four years. According to the complaint, no court has ever ruled on the legitimacy of Warner’s copyright claims over the birthday song.

Potential members of the class action lawsuit include anyone who has entered into a licensing agreement or paid a licensing fee to Warner for the “Happy Birthday” song.

The Happy Birthday Song Class Action Lawsuit case is Good Morning To You Productions Corp. et al. v. Warner/Chappell Music Inc., Case No. 13-cv-04040, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The plaintiffs are represented by Randall S. Newman of Randall S. Newman PC and Marc C. Rifkin, Janine L. Pollack, Beth A. Landes and Giti Baghban of Wolf Haldelstein Adler Freemen & Herz LLP.

UPDATE: Warner filed a motion to dismiss portions of the class action lawsuit.

UPDATE 2: On Sept. 22, 2015, a federal judge ruled that Warner/Chappell relied on an invalid copyright while collecting fees for the use of the Happy Birthday song.

UPDATE 3: On Feb. 9, 2016, Warner/Chappel Music Inc. and others agreed to pay $14 million and give up all claims that the song is copyrighted in order to settle the class action lawsuit.