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| ''The neutrality of the following material is ]'' | ''The neutrality of the following material is ]'' | ||
| There is a 1935 copyright registration for "Happy Birthday," but |
There is a 1935 copyright registration for "Happy Birthday," but "Good Morning to All" was published in 1893 and is ] by U. S. statute. One cannot use the "Happy Birthday" lyrics for profit without paying royalties. Except for the splitting of the first note in the melody "Good Morning to All" to accommodate the two syllables in the word happy, melodically "Happy Birthday" and "Good Morning to All" are identical. | ||
| "Good Morning to All" is printed in ''Song Stories for the Kindergarten'', pub. 1893 (revised edition pub. 1896). Words: Patty Hill (1946) Music: Mildred Hill (1916) | |||
| There are many references to "Happy Birthday" on the Web. Most warn of the copyright claim on it, which the current owners defend. Many of these pages do not mention the song "Good Morning to All"--and the few that do rarely mention its legal status. | |||
| "Good Morning to All" is included in: | |||
| * Song Stories for the Kindergarten, pub. 1893 | |||
| * Song Stories for the Kindergarten, revised ed., pub. 1896 | |||
| Words: Patty Hill (1946) Music: Mildred Hill (1916) | |||
| Neither the words nor the music of "Good Morning to All" are copyrighted under U. S. federal statute. | Neither the words nor the music of "Good Morning to All" are copyrighted under U. S. federal statute. | ||
| Allegedly, after the Hill's publication of "Good Morning to All," Robert Coleman sang the "birthday" lyrics with the "Good Morning to All" melody. Later the "Happy Birthday" lyrics combined with the Hill's published melody showed up on stage. The Hill family allegedly won a 1934 law suit granting them the 1935 copyright, which does not affect today's public domain status of "Good Morning to All." (see the New York Times of August 15, 1934, p.19 col. 6) | Allegedly, after the Hill's publication of "Good Morning to All," Robert Coleman sang the "birthday" lyrics with the "Good Morning to All" melody. Later the "Happy Birthday" lyrics combined with the Hill's published melody showed up on stage. The Hill family allegedly won a 1934 law suit granting them the 1935 copyright, which does not affect today's public domain status of "Good Morning to All." (see the New York Times of August 15, 1934, p.19 col. 6) | ||
| Precedence (regarding works derived from public domain material, and cases comparing two similar musical works) seems to suggest that the melody used in "Happy Birthday" would not merit additional legal protection for one split note. | Precedence (regarding works derived from public domain material, and cases comparing two similar musical works) seems to suggest that the melody used in "Happy Birthday" would not merit additional legal protection for one split note. | ||
Revision as of 15:03, 31 July 2003
Happy Birthday is an American song to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth.
The melody of "Happy Birthday" was written by American sisters Patty and Mildred Hill in 1893 when they were school teachers in Louisville, Kentucky. The verse was originally intended as a classroom greeting entitled "Good Morning To All." The lyrics were copyrighted in 1935, 11 years before Patty's death, and the ownership has swapped hands in multi-million dollar deals ever since; the copyright is currently owned by Warner Communications (who bought the rights in 1985) and is scheduled to expire in 2021.
Happy Birthday is now among the top three most popular songs in the English language, along with "Auld Lang Syne" and "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow."
Copyright controversy
Note: Misplaced Pages does not give legal advice
The neutrality of the following material is disputed
There is a 1935 copyright registration for "Happy Birthday," but "Good Morning to All" was published in 1893 and is public domain by U. S. statute. One cannot use the "Happy Birthday" lyrics for profit without paying royalties. Except for the splitting of the first note in the melody "Good Morning to All" to accommodate the two syllables in the word happy, melodically "Happy Birthday" and "Good Morning to All" are identical.
"Good Morning to All" is printed in Song Stories for the Kindergarten, pub. 1893 (revised edition pub. 1896). Words: Patty Hill (1946) Music: Mildred Hill (1916)
Neither the words nor the music of "Good Morning to All" are copyrighted under U. S. federal statute.
Allegedly, after the Hill's publication of "Good Morning to All," Robert Coleman sang the "birthday" lyrics with the "Good Morning to All" melody. Later the "Happy Birthday" lyrics combined with the Hill's published melody showed up on stage. The Hill family allegedly won a 1934 law suit granting them the 1935 copyright, which does not affect today's public domain status of "Good Morning to All." (see the New York Times of August 15, 1934, p.19 col. 6)
Precedence (regarding works derived from public domain material, and cases comparing two similar musical works) seems to suggest that the melody used in "Happy Birthday" would not merit additional legal protection for one split note.
Whether or not changing the words "Good Morning" to "Happy Birthday" should be protected by copyright is a different matter. The words "Good Morning" were substituted with "Happy Birthday" by others than the authors of "Good Morning to All."
In the 1920's Robert Coleman published the "Happy Birthday" variant in compilations of his own. One such example is The American Hymnal, Robert H. Coleman, 1933. A second example by another author is Children's Praise and Worship, Gospel Trumpet Company, 1928.
An interesting earlier songbook is Golden Book of Favorite Songs, Chicago, 1915. It includes the song "Good Morning to All" printed with the alternate title: "Happy Birthday to You." However, the "Happy Birthday" lyrics are not actually printed along the staff.
These sites also have the Coleman songbooks in their archives:
- http://archives.twu.ca/hymnlist.htm
- http://www2.bju.edu/resources/library/catalogs/american_hymn/hl_1921_40.html
- http://www.swbts.edu/libraries/bowld/thadroberts.shtm
Sources for "Good Morning to All" sheet music:
- http://www.pdinfo.com/rp/R002152.htm
- http://music.netstoreusa.com/songs/7005/HL00502604~958965.shtml
This page offers an mp3 sample of "Good Morning to All:
Other editorials about "Happy Birthday"
- http://www.attachemag.com/archives/01-02/story2/story2.htm
- http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/birthday.htm
The "Classical Archives" has a Happy Birthday midi w/variations:
Copyright and public domain in the U. S.:
- http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm
- http://www.pdinfo.com/source/N374339.htm
- http://www.copyright.gov/faq.html
Public domain research services:
Note: Misplaced Pages does not give legal advice
Also:
- Happy Birthday, a 1981 LP by Altered Images (including the hit title track)
- Happy Birthday, a 1996 LP by Prince
- Happy Birthday, a 1969 (?) LP by Pete Townshend
- Happy Birthday, a 2000 film featuring John Goodman and Christopher Lloyd