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  • No copyright to ‘Happy Birthday’ lyrics, judge rules
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23 September 2015Copyright

No copyright to ‘Happy Birthday’ lyrics, judge rules

A US judge has ruled that the lyrics to “Happy Birthday to You” are not protected by copyright, finding against music publisher Warner/Chappell.

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More on this story

Copyright
'Historic result': Happy Birthday public domain deal agreed
10 February 2016   Music publisher Warner/Chappell has agreed that “Happy Birthday to You” can enter the public domain and will pay out $14 million, in what has been described as a “historical result” by the film makers that brought the case.
Copyright
Parties celebrate as ‘Happy Birthday’ copyright dispute settled
10 December 2015   A copyright lawsuit centring on the song “Happy Birthday to You” has been settled out of court.
Copyright
Charity claims it owns ‘Happy Birthday’ copyright
16 November 2015   A children’s charity has stepped into the heated copyright dispute surrounding the popular “Happy birthday to you” tune, claiming it is the correct owner of the lyrics’ rights.


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