29-09-2015 15:00

Two sisters from Kentucky originally composed the song “Happy Birthday to You” in 1893. They called their version “Good Morning to All” which later changed into the famous “Happy Birthday” song.

A music publisher owned the copyright on the song. Every time the song was used in a film or a TV episode, that publisher made money. It made around 1.3 million pounds a year.

But not anymore! A judge in the USA ruled that the publisher no longer owns the copyright. The song belongs to all of us.

Difficult words: compose (to write a piece of music), publisher (a company that sells music), copyright (the legal right to be the only seller of a song).

You can read the original story and watch the video in the Level 3 section.