Another twist in ‘Happy Birthday’ copyright dispute
A US university’s librarian has unearthed a manuscript that could throw more doubt on the copyright claims to the lyrics to “Happy Birthday to You”.
The document, a 19th century-manuscript of a musical score that eventually turned into the song, was discovered at the University of Louisville on Monday, August 31.
It was found in a sketch book belonging to Louisville resident Mildred Hill who, together with her sister Patty, wrote the song “Good Morning to You”. That song later became “Happy Birthday”, which is believed to have been first published in 1893.
According to Reuters, officials at the university said there was no copyright notice attached to the manuscript.
The manuscript and other papers were donated to the library in the 1950s by a friend of the Hill sisters, but were not catalogued and remained hidden in its archives.
The discovery comes during a high-profile lawsuit that pits a group of film makers against music publisher Warner/Chappell, which claims to own the copyright to the song.
In a class action lawsuit filed in 2013, Good Morning to You Productions claimed that Warner/Chappell had collected “millions of dollars” in licensing fees for the song even though its origins are disputed.
The lawsuit was filed after Good Morning to You was told to pay Warner/Chappell $1,500 to play the song in a documentary that it had made covering the history of the track.
According to a filing submitted in July, Warner/Chappell itself presented lawyers representing Good Morning to You with previously withheld material that was “mistakenly” not produced during the trial’s discovery period, which had ended the previous July.
Included in the documents was the 15th edition of a book called “The Everyday Song Book”, published in 1927, which contained the lyrics to “Happy Birthday”.
Lawyers representing Good Morning to You then tried to find earlier editions of the book and came across an edition published in 1922 in archives belonging to The University of Pittsburgh.
This edition also included the song but without any copyright notice, according to the lawyers. Instead it included a line underneath that said “special permission” had been granted to use the song’s lyrics from Clayton F Summy Co.
Warner/Chappell’s copyright claim dates to 1935 and originates from Clayton F Summy Co, which was later acquired by Warner/Chappell. Summy had obtained registrations to “Happy Birthday” in 1935.
The 1922 songbook, according to Good Morning to You at the time, proves that the “Happy Birthday” lyrics were in the public domain many years before 1922.
