X-Git-Url: https://projects.mako.cc/source/unhappybirthday/blobdiff_plain/f033b18c9f4dd7ac718485e6d521eab792f9d236..refs/heads/master:/index.html diff --git a/index.html b/index.html index 31a6070..0456a0e 100644 --- a/index.html +++ b/index.html @@ -1,9 +1,8 @@ - - + - + + Unhappy Birthday @@ -21,6 +20,19 @@ alt="logo" align="center"/>
+
+

Notice!

+ +

Unfortunately, a series of recent legal rulings have forced us to suspend our campaign. In 2015, Time Warner's copyright claim to “Happy Birthday” was declared invalid. In 2016, a settlement was announced that calls for a judge to officially declare that the song is in the public domain.

+ +

This is horrible news for the future of music. It is horrible news for anybody who cares that creators, their heirs, etc., are fairly remunerated when their work is performed. What incentive will there be for anybody to pen the next “Happy Birthday” knowing that less than a century after their deaths — their estates and the large multinational companies that buy their estates — might not be able to reap the financial rewards from their hard work and creativity?

+ +

We are currently planning a campaign to push for a retroactive extension of copyright law to place “Happy Birthday,” and other works, back into the private domain where they belong! We believe this is a winnable fight. After all, copyright has been retroactively extended before! Stay tuned! In the meantime, we'll keep this page here for historical purposes.

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—“Copyrighteous“ Benjamin Mako Hill (2016-02-11)

+ +
+

Did you know Happy Birthday is copyrighted and the copyright is currently owned and actively enforced by Time Warner?

@@ -30,7 +42,7 @@ currently owned and actively enforced by Time Warner?

...or among a substantial number of people who are not family or friends
You are involved in a public performance of that work?

-

Did you know an unauthorized public performance is a form of +

Did you know an unauthorized public performance is often a form of copyright infringement?

@@ -74,8 +86,8 @@ copyright status, check out these resources:

  • Snopes' article on the legal status of Happy Birthday
    • -
  • Boycott-RIAA's -article on Happy Birthday and copyright
    • +
  • Great +article on Happy Birthday and copyright by Kembrew McLeod
  • Kuro5hin's @@ -84,6 +96,16 @@ hear.
    • +

    Update: This +article by law professor Robert Brauneis has raised some important +questions about the history of Happy Birthday. That said, copyright in +the song continues to be enforced and Warner Brothers continues to +collect more than $2 million each year in royalties. Until we hear a +judge rule on Brauneis's suggestions, we'll continue to give Warner and +the market the benefit of the doubt.

    + +

    Is Singing Happy Birthday in Public Really Copyright Infringement?

    @@ -100,11 +122,20 @@ or display it at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered."

    -

    This means that if you sing Happy Birthday to your family at -home, you're probably not committing copyright infringment. However, if you -do it in an restaurant — and if the restaurant hasn't already worked -out a deal with ASCAP — you may be engaging in copyright -infringement.

    +

    Additionally, United States Code Title 17, §110(4) states that +singing the song among a group of people "without any direct or indirect +commercial advantage" will not constitute infringement either. But keep +in mind: "indirect commercial advantage" is very broad. Courts have +found that restaurants, camps, and other venues benefit indirectly from +performances of songs like Happy Birthday. Unless the song has been +licensed in these situations, it's infringement.

    + + +

    This means that if you sing Happy Birthday to your +family at home, you're probably not committing copyright infringment. +However, if you do it in an restaurant — and if the restaurant +hasn't already worked out a deal with ASCAP — you may be engaging +in copyright infringement.

    How Can I Help Stop Infringement?

    @@ -157,7 +188,7 @@ New York, NY 10019-8016

    -

    If you're going send a message, here's a sample letter. (Before +

    If you're going to send a message, here's a sample letter. (Before sending such a letter, you should know that some restaurants, nightclubs, etc., pay for blanket ASCAP catalogue licenses that might exempt patrons from copyright liability for singing during dinner.) @@ -167,7 +198,7 @@ infringement:

    Dear ASCAP,
 
-The copyright status of "Happy Birthday To You" and and the law
+The copyright status of "Happy Birthday To You" and the law
 related to public performances of copyrighted works have recently been
 brought to my attention. I am very concerned by the public's apparent
 disregard for copyright law demonstrated by rampant infringement of
@@ -212,9 +243,9 @@ Birthday.
    
 href="http://www.cafepress.com/unhappybirthday">official Unhappy
 Birthday store.
    
 
-
    You can get in contact with our leadership by emailing our
-copyrighteous spokesman — Benjamin Mako Hill — at mako@atdot.cc 
    
+
    Our president is Raymond Ty. You can get in contact with our
+leadership by emailing our copyrighteous spokesman — Benjamin Mako
+Hill — at mako@atdot.cc