Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday to You

For over 25 years, Warner/Chappell has collected royalties on the "Happy Birthday" song.  Warner claimed to the copyright following its purchase of Birch Tree Group, which is the successor to Clayton F. Summy Co., the company that claimed the original copyright to the Happy Birthday song.

On Tuesday, Judge George H. King ruled that Warner/Chappell never had the rights to "Happy Birthday To You".   The Judge ruled that a copyright filed by the Summy Co. in 1935 granted the rights to specific piano arrangements of the music only, not the actual song.