The Birthday Song That Cost $2 Million a Year

About this episode

For decades, a company collected an estimated two million dollars a year in royalties from a song sung at nearly every birthday party on the planet. Then one filmmaker got a $1,500 invoice and decided to find out if that company actually owned it. This week: what she found. One story. A few minutes. No homework required. Sources: • WIPO Magazine – "In the courts: Court confirms legal status of Happy Birthday to You!" • The Conversation – "The case against Happy Birthday copyright protection" • IPWatchdog – "'Happy Birthday To You' Now In the Public Domain (Sort of)" • ABA Journal – "'Happy Birthday' song is in the public domain, judge rules" • Time – "Happy Birthday Song Copyright Lawsuit: The Strange History of a Song" • Wharton Global Youth – "Let's Party! The 'Happy Birthday' Song Loses Its Copyright" As always – this is what the internet told me. The internet has been wrong before. So have I. Fact-check away.