Warner Music to pay $14 million in 'Happy Birthday' case

'Happy Birthday To You' might be the most memorable song, filled with memories of family and parties.

However it's become a $14 million (£9.6 million) nuisance for Warner Music, because in 1988 it bought the song from Birch Tree Group, has been very active in going after anyone who used the tune without paying out.

Because of this, a class action law suit against the music company was made - with the main argument being that no one could own the rights to the song since it was published in children's books two decades before the copyright was filed in 1935.

In addition to paying the attorney fees, any money won would go back to people who have been sued by Warner Music in the past.

According to Rolling Stone magazine, District Judge George H. King ruled that the copyright was invalid.

The case isn't as simple as it may sound though. The copyright was deemed invalid because the 1935 copyright only applied to a specific piano arrangement, but the song 'Happy Birthday to You' takes its melody from the 1893 song 'Good Morning to All', a song that is already in the public domain.

Speaking about the case Jennifer Nelson, one of the original plaintiffs, said: "We revealed a dark side to the happy tune. It's a song that everyone's familiar with and grew up with, but nobody knew that this song was copyrighted and you had to pay a license for that."

The Guardian reported that although Warner has agreed to settle the case it disagrees with the decision made in court.