Happy Birthday

One of the most famous performances of "Happy Birthday to You" was Marilyn Monroe's rendition to U.S. President John F. Kennedy in May 1962. Another notable use was by comedy pianist Victor Borge, who would play the song in styles of various composers, or begin playing Moonlight Sonata, smoothly transitioning into the song. The Walt Disney Company paid the copyright holder US$5,000 to use the song in the birthday scene at Epcot's defunct attraction Horizons.[citation needed] The documentary film The Corporation states that Warner/Chappell charges up to US$10,000 for the song to appear in a film. Because of the copyright issue, filmmakers rarely show complete singalongs of "Happy Birthday" in films, either substituting the public-domain "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" or avoiding the song entirely. Before the song was copyrighted it was used freely, as in Bosko's Party, a Warner Brothers cartoon of 1932, where a chorus of animals sings it twice through. The copyright status of "Happy Birthday to You" is directly referenced in "iMake Sam Girlier", a 2009 episode of the TV series iCarly, in which a character begins to sing the song but is prevented from doing so by another character who points out the song isn't public domain; "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow" is then sung instead. The copyright is also referenced frequently in a Disney A.N.T. Farm episode where characters repeatedly try to sing the song, only to be stopped by others reminding them of the price. The melody of the song is also featured in The Wrong Trousers but was replaced with "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" for DVD releases. The use of the song is a problem even if it is sung in a made up language, as a Klingon-language version was nixed in pre-production from the 7th season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called "Parallels", replaced with "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" in Klingon. In the Futurama episode "I Second That Emotion", they poke fun at the song and its copyright by making their own version with the lyrics "What day is today? / It's (birthday person)'s birthday / What a day for a birthday / Let's all have some cake." In the 30 Rock episode "Goodbye, My Friend", TGS cast members begin to sing the song following an announcement about the royalty fee for singing "Happy Birthday to You" on a television show. The cast is interrupted after the first line by a character entering the scene. In the Community episode "Mixology Certification", a scene starts with the last two words of the song ("...to you"), implying it had been sung in its entirety, but it is then revealed that the characters sang only those two words, because the birthday boy comes from a culture in which birthdays are not celebrated. Given the other instances listed here, it is likely that this choice was made for the show for the additional reason that it avoids paying royalties for the song, and, given the style of humor on Community, because it subverts the TV trope of starting a scene with the end of an activity whose exact content is unimportant to the story. In the 1987 documentary Eyes on the Prize about the US Civil Rights Movement, there was a birthday party scene in which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s discouragement began to lift. After its initial release, the film was unavailable for sale or broadcast for many years because of the cost of clearing many copyrights, of which "Happy Birthday to You" was one. Grants in 2005 for copyright clearances have allowed PBS to rebroadcast the film as recently as February 2008. On August 5, 2013, the first anniversary of its landing on Mars, NASA's Curiosity rover celebrated its "birthday" when engineers at Goddard Space Flight Center used the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument to cause the rover to "sing" Happy Birthday on the Martian surface. On the March 6th, 2014 episode of The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert sang "Happy Birthday" (with extensively modified lyrics) to the tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner" as a way to sing the song without having to pay the royalty fee to Warner ....

On June 13, 2013, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Nelson filed a putative class action suit in federal court for the Southern District of New York against Warner/Chappell in the name of her production company, Good Morning to You Productions. As part of a documentary she was making about the song and its history, she had paid $1,500 to secure the rights. Her complaint relies heavily on Brauneis's research, seeking not only the return of her money but all royalties collected by the company from other filmmakers since 2009. A week later a similar case was filed in the Central District of California, Rupa Marya v. Warner Chappell Music Inc, Case No. 2:13-cv-04460. Five weeks later, Nelson refiled the case there, and the cases were joined. As of April 2014, Warner's motion to dismiss had been denied without prejudice, and discovery has begun under an agreed plan with respect to claim 1, declaratory judgment as to whether Happy Birthday to You is in the public domain. The Motion Cut-Off as to Merits Issues on the Claim One deadline is November 7, 2014. After that, the court is expected to rule on the motion for summary judgment as to the merits issues on Claim One. A jury trial has been requested. As of January 2015, there is a hearing on both parties' motions to have each other's evidence for Summary Judgment excluded set for February 2, 2015 ....

The origins of "Happy Birthday to You" date back to at least the mid-19th century, when two sisters, Patty and Mildred J. Hill, introduced the song "Good Morning to All" to Patty's kindergarten class in Kentucky. Years later, in 1893, they published the tune in their songbook Song Stories for the Kindergarten. Kembrew McLeod stated that the Hill sisters likely copied the tune and lyrical idea from other popular and similar nineteenth-century songs that predated theirs, including Horace Waters' "Happy Greetings to All", "Good Night to You All" also from 1858, "A Happy New Year to All" from 1875, and "A Happy Greeting to All", published 1885. However, Brauneis disputes this, noting that these earlier songs had quite different melodies, pp. 12–14 The Hill Sisters' students enjoyed their teachers' version of "Good Morning to All" so much that they began spontaneously singing it at birthday parties, changing the lyrics to "Happy Birthday". The first book including the "Happy birthday" lyric set to the tune of "Good Morning to All" that bears a date of publication is "The Beginners' Book of Songs," published by the Cable Company, a piano manufacturer, in 1912, p. 31 Children's Praise and Worship, edited by Andrew Byers, Bessie L. Byrum and Anna E. Koglin, published the song in 1918. In 1924, Robert Coleman included "Good Morning to All" in a songbook with the birthday lyrics as a second verse. Coleman also published "Happy Birthday" in The American Hymnal in 1933. In 1935, "Happy Birthday to You" was copyrighted as a work for hire crediting Preston Ware Orem and Mrs. R.R. Forman for the Summy Company, the publisher of "Good Morning to All". A new company, Birch Tree Group Limited, was formed to protect and enforce the song's copyright. Warner/Chappell Music acquired Birch Tree Group Limited in 1988 for $25 million. The company continues to insist that one cannot sing the "Happy Birthday to You" lyrics for profit without paying royalties: in 2008, Warner collected about $5,000 per day ($2 million per year) in royalties for the song, pp. 4,68 Warner/Chappell claims copyright for every use in film, television, radio, anywhere open to the public, and for any group where a substantial number of those in attendance are not family or friends of whoever is performing the song. Professor Robert Brauneis cited problems with the song's authorship and the notice and renewal of the copyright, and concluded: "It is almost certainly no longer under copyright." In the EU, copyright lasts for the life of the author(s) plus 70 years; since Patty Hill (the last surviving author) died in 1946, the copyright in these countries would expire following December 31, 2016, if it is presumed that its copyright is valid. An exception to this rule is enjoyed in the UK, however, since the melody's original US copyright lapsed during the 1912-1956 period that the UK followed the Berne Convention Comparison of Terms (AKA Rule of the Shorter Term). However, in the United States, this rule does not apply to any works published prior to 1978; copyright duration is tied exclusively to the publication date, assuming the necessary copyright notice appeared upon publication and proper renewal was filed. If these formalities were properly followed for a valid copyright, the song would not pass into the public domain until the end of 2030, 95 years after the publication by the authors ....

In most legal systems, one becomes designated as an adult on a particular birthday (usually between 12 and 21), and reaching age-specific milestones confers particular rights and responsibilities. At certain ages, one may become eligible to leave full-time education, or become subject to military conscription or to enlist in the military, to consent to sexual intercourse, to marry, to marry without parental consent, to vote, to run for elected office, to legally purchase (or consume) alcohol and tobacco products, to purchase lottery tickets, or to obtain a driver's license. The age of majority is the age when minors cease to legally be considered children and assume control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thereby terminating the legal control and legal responsibilities of their parents or guardian over and for them. Most countries set majority between 18 to 21 ....

Many cultures have one or more coming of age birthdays: Little girl in traditional birthday hat used in Canada and the U.S. In Canada and the United States, families often mark a girl's 16th birthday with a "sweet sixteen" celebration. In some Hispanic countries, as well as in Portuguese-speaking Brazil, the quincea?era (Spanish) or festa de quinze anos (Portuguese) celebration traditionally marks a girl's 15th birthday. In India, on a child's first birthday, their head is shaved while being held by a special fire. Removal of the hair cleanses the child of any evil in past lives, symbolizing a renewal of the soul. Hindu male children of some castes, like Brahmins, have the 12th or 13th birthday replaced with a grand "thread ceremony". The child takes a blessed thread and wears it, symbolizing his coming of age. This is called the Upanayana. In the Philippines, girls on their 18th birthday or boys on their 21st birthday celebrate a debut. In some Asian countries that follow the Zodiac calendar, there is a tradition of celebrating the 60th birthday. In Korea, many celebrate a traditional ceremony of Baek-il (Feast for the 100th day) and Doljanchi (child's first birthday). In Japan there is a Coming of Age Day, for all of those who have turned 20 years of age. In British Commonwealth nations cards from the Royal Family are sent to those celebrating their 100th and 105th birthday and every year thereafter. In Ghana, on their birthday, children wake up to a special treat called "oto" which is a patty made from mashed sweet potato and eggs fried in palm oil. Later they have a birthday party where they usually eat stew and rice and a dish known as "kelewele", which is fried plantain chunks. In Sudan the children who live in the cities celebrate their birthday, whereas in the country they don't."History of the Birthday Celebration" Jewish boys become bar mitzvah on their 13th birthday. Jewish girls become bat mitzvah on their 12th birthday, or sometimes on their 13th birthday in Reform and Conservative Judaism. This marks the transition where they become obligated in commandments of which they were previously exempted and are counted as part of the community. In Guyana, Birthdays and Christmas are considered "opposites," and they cancel each other out if they happen on the same day."Guyana Culture and Customs" The birthdays of historically significant people, such as national heroes or founders, are often commemorated by an official holiday marking the anniversary of their birth. Catholic saints are remembered by a liturgical feast (sometimes on a presumed birthday). The ancient Romans marked the anniversary of a temple dedication or other founding event as a dies natalis, a term still sometimes applied to the anniversary of an institution (such as a university). A person's Golden or Grand Birthday, also referred to as their "Lucky Birthday", "Champagne Birthday", or "Star Birthday",[citation needed] occurs when they turn the age of their birth day (e.g., when someone born on the 25th of the month turns 25 or when someone born on the ninth turns nine). An individual's Beddian Birthday, named in tribute to firefighter Bobby Beddia, occurs during the year that his or her age matches the last two digits of the year he or she was born. In many cultures and jurisdictions, if a person's real birthday is not known (for example, if he or she is an orphan), then their birthday may be considered to be January 1 That tradition is followed with horses, their age becoming one, on the first day of the year following their birth and being counted annually after that. The Chinese count age without zero; a newborn's age is one, a 12-month-old is two, and so on ....

In many parts of the world[vague] an individual's birthday is celebrated by a party where a specially made cake, usually decorated with lettering and the person's age, is presented. The cake is traditionally studded with the same number of lit candles as the age of the individual, or a number candle representing their age. The celebrated individual will usually make a silent wish and attempt to blow out the candles in one breath; if successful, a tradition holds that the wish will be granted. In many cultures, the wish must be kept secret or it won't "come true". Presents are bestowed on the individual by the guests appropriate to her/his age. Other birthday activities may include entertainment (sometimes by a hired professional, i.e. a clown, magician, or musician), and a special toast or speech by the birthday celebrant. The last stanza of Patty Hill's and Mildred Hill's famous song, "Good Morning to You" (unofficially titled "Happy Birthday to You") is typically sung by the guests at some point in the proceedings. In some countries a pi?ata takes the place of a cake. An occasional activity is spanking the birthday individual, with one gentle "swat" for each year since birth ....

In some historically Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries such as Italy, Spain, France, parts of Germany, Poland, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia, and throughout Latin America, it is common to have a 'name day'/'Saint's day'. It is celebrated in much the same way as a birthday, but it is held on the official day of a saint with the same Christian name as the birthday person; the difference being that one may look up a person's name day in a calendar, or easily remember common name days (for example, John or Mary); however in pious traditions, the two were often made to concur by giving a newborn the name of a saint celebrated on its birthday, or possibly the name of a feast, for example, Noel or Pascal (French for Christmas and "of Easter"); as another example, Togliatti got Palmiro as his first name because he was born on Palm Sunday .... Origen in his commentary "On Levites" writes that Christians should not only refrain from celebrating their birthdays, but should look on them with disgust. Orthodox Christianity still prefers the celebration of name days only. Ordinary folk celebrated their saint's day (the saint they were named after), but nobility celebrated the anniversary of their birth. The "Squire's Tale", one of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, opens as King Cambuskan proclaims a feast to celebrate his birthday. While most Christians accept the practice today, Jehovah's Witnesses and some Sacred Name groups refrain from celebrating birthdays due to the custom's pagan origins, its connections to magic and superstitions, and its being portrayed in a negative light in the Bible ....

In the Gregorian calendar (a common solar calendar), February in a leap year has 29 days instead of the usual 28, so the year lasts 366 days instead of the usual 365. A person born on February 29 may be called a "leapling" or a "leaper". In common years they usually celebrate their birthdays on February 28. In some situations, March 1 is used as the birthday in a non-leap year since it is the day following February 28. Technically, a leapling will have fewer birthday anniversaries than their age in years. This phenomenon is exploited when a person claims to be only a quarter of their actual age, by counting their leap-year birthday anniversaries only. In Gilbert and Sullivan's 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance, Frederic the pirate apprentice discovers that he is bound to serve the pirates until his 21st birthday rather than until his 21st year. For legal purposes, legal birthdays depend on how local laws count time intervals ....

Chinese birthday traditions reflect the culture's deep-seated focus on longevity and wordplay. From the homophony between 酒 ("rice wine") and 久 (meaning "long" in the sense of time passing), osmanthus and other rice wines are traditional gifts for birthdays in China. Longevity noodles are another traditional food consumed on the day, although western-style birthday cakes are increasingly common among urban Chinese ....

In Judaism, the perspective on birthday celebrations is disputed by various rabbis. In the Hebrew Bible, the one single mention of a celebration being held in commemoration of someone's day of birth is for the Egyptian Pharaoh which is recorded in Genesis 40:20. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein always acknowledged birthdays. The Lubavitcher Rebbe encouraged people to celebrate their birthdays, by gathering friends, making positive resolutions, and through various religious observances. According to Rabbi Yissocher Frand, the anniversary of a person's birth is a special day for that person's prayers to be accepted. The bar mitzvah of 13-year-old Jewish boys, or bat mitzvah for 12-year-old Jewish girls, is perhaps the only Jewish celebration undertaken in what is often perceived to be in coalition with a birthday. Despite modern celebrations where the secular "birthday" element often overshadows the essence of it as a religious rite, the essence of a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah celebration is entirely religious in origin (i.e. the attainment of religious maturity according to Jewish law), however, and not secular. With or without the birthday celebration, the child nevertheless becomes a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah, and the celebration may be on that day or any date after it ....

Some consider the celebration of a birthday to be a sin, as it is considered an "innovation" of the faith, or bi'dah while other clerics have issued statements saying that the celebration of a birthday is permissible. Some Muslims (and Arabian Christians) migrating to the United States adopt the custom of celebrating birthdays, especially for children, but others resist. There also is a great deal of controversy regarding celebrating Milad-ul-Nabi – the anniversary of the birth of Muhammad. While a section of Islam strongly favours it, others decry such celebrations, terming them as out of the scope of Islam ....

Hindus celebrate the birth anniversary day every year when the day that corresponds to lunar month or solar month (Sun Signs Nirayana System – Sourava Mana Masa) of birth and has the same asterism (Star/Nakshatra) as that of the date of birth. That age is reckoned whenever Janma Nakshatra of the same month passes. Hindus regard death to be more auspicious than birth since the person is liberated from the bondages of material society. Also, traditionally, death is celebrated on 5th and 11th day with many relatives gathering. In recent times, due to the influence of western society, birth is also part of the celebrations ....

Many monasteries celebrate the anniversary of Buddha's birth, usually in a highly formal, ritualized manner. They treat Buddha's statue as if it was Buddha himself, as if he was alive; bathing, and "feeding" him .... Sikhs celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak .... In North Korea, people do not celebrate birthdays on July 8 and December 17 because these were the dates of the deaths of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, respectively. More than 100,000 North Koreans celebrate displaced birthdays on July 9 or December 18 to avoid these dates. A person born on July 8 before 1994 may change their birthday, with official recognition ....