#1 (permalink)

I want to play the Happy Birthday song on my website, but i heard that if I do I have to pay royalties or something, is that true? and if so do any of you know how much? Anyways, I also found an alternative birthday song called Glad You Were Born Today at www.gywbt.com and i think I can use that but I am not sure. Any help would be appreciated.

#2 (permalink)

As far as I know it is copyrighted a long time ago and isn't set to expire till 2030...check it out on wikipedia for more info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You

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#3 (permalink)

Wow! I never thought I still have so many things to learn about this most popular song of all time..

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#4 (permalink)

if you are singing the B-Day song...I dont think so. ;-)

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#5 (permalink)

Have you ever gone into some of the bigger restaurant chains and they sing another song instead of Happy Birthday? It's not to be different. It is due to the copyright issue.

With this song, I would think twice about putting it on your site. If you had a small restaurant in the middle of North Dakota that wasn't a chain, you could probably get away with it. On the net however, you are located at 101 Main Street, Copyright USA. Not a place to test the waters for this song!

You could only be sued for money made from the song. They would have to prove that you made a certain amount. However, you would have to spend money to represent yourself in court. Even if a judge made a judgement of $1.00, this could cost you $X,xxx to defend...