
Entertainment
Share
Published 09:06 23 Sept 2015 BST
That's why you rarely see the song sung in movies or on TV shows - because Warner charge an arm and a leg for the privilege.
But all that is about to change, because a federal judge in the US has ruled that Warner don't in fact own the copyright for the ditty - only a very specific arrangement.
As the LA Times reports:
Judge George H. King ruled Tuesday afternoon that a copyright filed by the [Clayton F.] Summy Co. in 1935 granted only the rights to specific arrangements of the music, not the actual song itself. “Because Summy Co. never acquired the rights to the Happy Birthday lyrics,” wrote Judge George H. King, “Defendants, as Summy Co.’s purported successors-in-interest, do not own a valid copyright in the Happy Birthday lyrics.”So your nan can now sing it to her heart's delight, safe in the knowledge she's not a hardened criminal for doing so.

The JOE Film Club Quiz: Week 101
Entertainment

Universal’s £6bn UK Theme Park officially named
Entertainment

The JOE Film Club Quiz: Week 100
Entertainment

The JOE Film Club Quiz: Week 99
Entertainment
Universal’s £6bn UK Theme Park officially named
Taxpayers are set to stump up over £1bn Universal’s £6bn Theme Park which is coming to the UK has officially been named. The attraction is set to be constructed on the site of the former Kempston Hardwick brickworks near Bedford and would create an estimated 28,000 jobs. The park, expected to open in 2031, will […]
Entertainment
4h
All the reviews for Clarkson’s Farm Series 5 as audience favourite returns
It seems people are divided The new season of Clarkson’s Farm focuses on Jeremy Clarkson’s efforts to modernise Diddly Squat Farm, as he deals with major farming challenges, a changing political landscape, and the growing demands of running his new pub. Season 5 of the documentary reality series begins after a health scare forces Jeremy […]
Entertainment
23h
Entertainment