![]() Warner and the plaintiffs both agreed that the melody of the familiar song, first written as “Good Morning To All,” had entered the public domain decades ago. Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter > That was only the beginning of the tangled web of copyright law various attorneys have argued may or may not apply to one of the world’s most famous songs. Summy Co., in exchange for a cut of the sales. The sisters published the song in a book called “Song Stories for the Kindergarten,” and assigned the copyright to their publisher, Clayton F. Patty later said that she had worked with her sister to compose a simple melody to match the words that could be easily sung by young children. Hill wrote the song for Patty’s kindergarten students, titling it “Good Morning To All.” The original lyrics Patty wrote were: “Good morning to you / Good morning to you / Good morning, dear children / Good morning to all.” The story began in 1893, with a Kentucky schoolteacher and her older sister. 23, 2:18 p.m.: An earlier version of this article said “Happy Birthday” is a six-note song. The song has seen the rise and fall of vinyl records, cassette tapes, CDs and now, the era of digital streaming music. The complex saga of the eight-note ditty has spanned more than 120 years, withstanding two world wars and several eras of copyright law. The song brings in about $2 million a year in royalties for Warner, according to some estimates. ![]() James said the scene was “essential” to the film and ultimately decided to pay up.Īt a March hearing in the case, records show, a Warner/Chappell representative seated in the audience told the judge that the company collects as much as “six figures” for certain single uses of the song. And we only used it for 9 seconds,” James wrote in an email passed along by his publicist. “It was quite expensive for us at that time and with our budget. ![]() Filmmaker Steve James paid Warner $5,000 to use the song in his 1994 documentary “Hoop Dreams.” Two of the filmmaker plaintiffs paid $1,500 and $3,000 for the rights to use the song, their attorneys said. The fact that the birthday tune can’t be played or sung without permission from Warner has been little more than a surprising piece of trivia for most, but for Warner Music Group, it has meant big business. ![]()
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