By Lingxiu Chong
Prior to March 14th this year, your birthday celebrations weren’t all as well-behaved as you thought. You’re actually infringing copyright laws every time you got older. Here’s a fun fact: who knew the Happy Birthday song was earning Warner/Chappell a cool two million every year?...
Copyright law’s come a long way since its beginnings way back in 1554, during the early days of popular print media. And when did the ‘Happy Birthday’ song first come about? Some say 1893, but in any case was first published in 1935 in a book of children’s songs by the Summy Company.
According to Ars Technica, this case is only just testing the waters for more copyright reform down the road. To quote Nelson’s lawyer, "I think there are a few other songs that we're going to attempt to free up next," he told Ars. "I don't want to say the names.".
Frankly, we can think of better tunes to celebrate with - throw a birthday party at the Foxgrove and make a better soundtrack for the occasion!
Via The Toast
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