Warner Music Group (Warner) claims the rights to “Happy Birthday to You” – the most recognized English language song in the world. Warner has aggressively asserted rights to anyone who performs a public rendition of the song, from celebrities to parents audacious enough to post videos of their children’s birthday parties online, demanding licensing fees and threatening to sue if not paid. However, according to a University of Pittsburgh Law Librarian, Warner may not have a valid patent for the song.

A class action lawsuit was filed against Warner challenging their copyright to the song, from which Warner receives approximately $2 million in revenue a year. The case was cracked open after evidence of a book, the fourth edition of “The Everyday Song Book,” published in 1922, has an un-copyrighted version of “Happy Birthday to You” in it. This would predate Warner’s 1933 copyright. Evidence of this book was uncovered in Warner’s own files which were handed over during discovery. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs reached out to University of Pittsburgh Law Professor Michael Madison on a hunch that the University had a copy of the book. A law librarian found a copy in the university library’s storage facility. The librarian quickly sent copies of the relevant pages to the plaintiffs, who then motioned for summary judgment.