Editing Happy Birthday to You (section)

==History==
Patty Hill was a kindergarten principal in [[Louisville, Kentucky]], developing teaching methods at the [[Little Loomhouse]];<ref>{{cite web |last= Clifft |first= Candice |year= 2007 |url= http://www.ket.org/cgi-bin/fw_louisvillelife.exe/db/ket/dmps/Programs?do=topic&topicid=LOUL030013&id=LOUL |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802165409/http://www.ket.org/cgi-bin/fw_louisvillelife.exe/db/ket/dmps/Programs?do=topic&topicid=LOUL030013&id=LOUL |url-status= dead |archive-date= August 2, 2009 |publisher= Kentucky Educational Television |work= Louisville Life Program |title= Little Loomhouse }}</ref> her sister Mildred was a pianist and composer.<ref>{{harvp|Brauneis|2010|p=7}}.</ref> The sisters used "Good Morning to All" as a song that young children would find easy to sing.<ref>{{harvp|Brauneis|2010|p=14}}.</ref> The combination of melody and lyrics in "Happy Birthday to You" first appeared in print in 1912.<ref>{{harvp|Brauneis|2010|pp=31–32}}.</ref> None of the early appearances of the "Happy Birthday to You" lyrics included credits or copyright notices. The Summy Company registered a copyright in 1935, crediting authors [[Preston Ware Orem]] and Mrs. R.&nbsp;R. Forman.<!--ref provided in text body--> In 1988, [[Warner/Chappell Music]] purchased the company owning the copyright for {{USD}}25&nbsp;million, with the value of "Happy Birthday" estimated at {{USD}}5&nbsp;million.<ref name=ages/><ref name="New York Times">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/26/arts/happy-birthday-and-the-money-it-makes.html|title='Happy Birthday' and the Money It Makes|date=December 26, 1989|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 7, 2013|archive-date=December 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171220230011/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/26/arts/happy-birthday-and-the-money-it-makes.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Warner claimed that the United States copyright would not expire until 2030 and that unauthorized public performances of the song were illegal unless royalties were paid. In February 2010, the royalty for a single use was {{USD}}700.<ref name="Wendy_Williams">{{cite web |author-link= Wendy Williams (media personality) |first= Wendy |last= Williams |title=Transcript |work= The Wendy Williams Show |url= http://www.livedash.com/transcript/the_wendy_williams_show/7650/BETP/Friday_February_5_2010/186147/#943921726 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111009170834/http://www.livedash.com/transcript/the_wendy_williams_show/7650/BETP/Friday_February_5_2010/186147/#943921726 |archive-date= October 9, 2011 |date=February 5, 2010 |access-date=September 17, 2014}}</ref> By one estimate, the song is the highest-earning single song in history.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/9769510/The-Richest-Songs-in-the-World-BBC-Four-review.html |title= The Richest Songs in the World, BBC Four, Review |first= Isabel |last= Mohan |date= December 29, 2012 |work= The Telegraph |location= London |access-date= September 23, 2015 |archive-date= September 23, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150923153743/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/9769510/The-Richest-Songs-in-the-World-BBC-Four-review.html |url-status= live }}</ref> In the European Union, the copyright for the song expired on January 1, 2017.<ref>EU countries observe the "life + 70" copyright standard.</ref>

The American copyright status of "Happy Birthday to You" began to draw more attention with the passage of the [[Copyright Term Extension Act]] in 1998. The Supreme Court upheld the Act in ''[[Eldred v. Ashcroft]]'' in 2003, and Associate Justice [[Stephen Breyer]] specifically mentioned "Happy Birthday to You" in his dissenting opinion.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120709140932/http://laws.findlaw.com/us/537/186.html 537 US 186], Justice Breyer, dissenting, II, C.</ref> American law professor [[Robert Brauneis]] extensively researched the song and concluded in 2010 "it is almost certainly no longer under copyright."<ref name= brauneis >{{harvp|Brauneis|2010}}.</ref> Good Morning to You Productions sued Warner/Chappell for falsely claiming copyright to the song in 2013.<ref name=Masnick/><ref name="ages">{{cite news |first=Benjamin |last=Weiser |title=Birthday Song's Copyright Leads to a Lawsuit for the Ages |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/nyregion/lawsuit-aims-to-strip-happy-birthday-to-you-of-its-copyright.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 13, 2013 |access-date=June 14, 2013 |archive-date=June 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614184055/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/nyregion/lawsuit-aims-to-strip-happy-birthday-to-you-of-its-copyright.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2015, a federal judge declared that the Warner/Chappell copyright claim was invalid, ruling that the copyright registration applied only to a specific piano arrangement of the song and not to its lyrics and melody. In 2016, Warner/Chappell settled for $14 million, and the court declared that "Happy Birthday to You" was in the public domain.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/warner-music-settles-happy-birthday-lawsuit-for-14-million-20160209 | title=Warner Music Settles 'Happy Birthday' Lawsuit for $14 Million | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=February 9, 2016 | access-date=May 3, 2016 | author=Blistein, Jon | archive-date=August 5, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805014815/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/warner-music-settles-happy-birthday-lawsuit-for-14-million-20160209 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="settlement2016">{{cite court |litigants=Good Morning to You Productions v. Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. |court=U.S. District Court for the Central District of California |date=2016 |url=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2938811/76d56dc1-4b7b-4d07-b6ab-351f79b4a8ca.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2938811/76d56dc1-4b7b-4d07-b6ab-351f79b4a8ca.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>