Happy Birthday is illegal - who knew?

Most people sing “Happy Birthday” without ever thinking twice about it. It’s sung at most birthday parties across America. Depending on where you sing the song, it can actually be a violation of Copyright law. What few people realize is that the song is owned by a private company, and that it is copyrighted. I for one was not aware that the song was copyrighted. I would have never second guessed about singing it or posting it somewhere until now.

Singing “Happy Birthday” to a friend and posting it on YouTube would be an infringement of U.S. Copyright law. The copyright to ‘Happy Birthday to You’ remains in full force under U.S. and international copyright law. (Siegel) According to www.copyright.gov,”Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of “original works of authorship.” This includes literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works.”

Posting the video on YouTube would be in direct violation of their terms. In section six of the You Tube terms and contract, it states: “You affirm, represent, and warrant that you own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to publish Content you submit; and you license to YouTube all patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights in and to such Content for publication on the Service pursuant to these Terms of Service.”

“You further agree that Content you submit to the Service will not contain third party copyrighted material, or material that is subject to other third party proprietary rights, unless you have permission from the rightful owner of the material or you are otherwise legally entitled to post the material and to grant YouTube all of the license rights granted herein.”

Posting a video to YouTube singing “Happy Birthday” would be wrong. Since the song is owned by a private company, and is copyrighted, this would be an infringement. Before posting on YouTube, a person is obligated to know and agree to the terms and conditions. Posting a video while infringing on a copyright directly violates their terms and conditions.

In conclusion, singing “Happy Birthday” and posting it on YouTube would be both a violation of Copyright and against the YouTube terms and contract. It’s hard for some people to imagine that something as simple and innocent as singing “Happy Birthday” and posting it online could be wrong.  That doesn’t mean that when someone’s birthday rolls around, you’re not allowed to sing them the famous song. Singing the song at home among family is acceptable because it is considered a private performance (Siegel). Once you add the element of taping it and posting on-line, or singing for an audience – you are in violation of Copyright. It’s kind of funny that most people have no idea that one of the most famous songs in America is copyrighted. I had no idea that this was the case until writing this paper. Now I know!

Sources:

Siegel, J., & Cochran, J. (2008, July 21). Sing 'Happy Birthday' and It'll Cost You. Retrieved September 3, 2014.

YouTube Terms of Service. (2010, June 9). Retrieved September 3, 2014.