Its hard to imagine that such a commonplace song as Happy Birthday to You is still under copyright, but in most countries thats the case. The copyright is owned by the Time Warner conglomerate, and if you sing it in a public place (such as at a restaurant) you are liable to pay a royalty for the privilege. The royalties are collected in the US by ASCAP, who reportedly collect over $2 million each year from this one song, accounting for over one percent of all the royalties that ASCAP distributes to songwriters.

How can this be? The song was written in 1893 by Mildred Hill as Good Morning to All, with a tune quite similar to earlier songs. Some time after that, people started singing Happy Birthday to You to the same tune. In 1934, Mildreds sister Jessica Hill sued for the rights to the song, and registered its copyright in 1935. Subsequent corporate sales and mergers led to the rights falling under the umbrella of the Time Warner conglomerate.

Back in 1935 copyright lasted 28 ye ...more

Not at all. This song was made free from copyright act in 1931 as it was given to public for general birthday singing.