“Happy Birthday” Lawsuit: “Smoking Gun” Emerges in Bid to Free World’s Most Popular Song Attorneys for suing filmmakers uncover a blurry version of an 88-year-old book in the files of ...

The "smoking gun" is a 1927 version of the "Happy Birthday" lyrics, predating Warner/Chappell's 1935 copyright by eight years.

Everyday Song Book, published by The Cable Company in 1922 (Courtesy: Atty Daniel Schacht) The evidence, what Schacht called “the smoking gun,” was a songbook from 1922, containing music and lyrics ...

A lawsuit has been filed by a US filmmaker who is trying to recoup the £900 she paid music publisher Warner/Chappell to use Happy Birthday in her documentary about the song.

Is the Happy Birthday cash cow finally over? Lawyers have discovered a “smoking gun” document which “conclusively proves” that the world’s most popular song is not covered by copyright ...

A group of filmmakers fighting for the song Happy Birthday to be in the public domain say they've uncovered the "proverbial smoking-gun evidence" which proves their claim. Despite being regularly ...

A hearing Wednesday on whether one of the world's most popular songs belongs in the public domain ended without a decision. By Austin Siegemund-Broka “Happy Birthday” will stay out of the ...

On July 17, 2025, The Wall Street Journal published an exclusive report claiming U.S. President Donald Trump once sent a ...

“Thanks for coming to my dad’s birthday party,” said Micah Nelson, a few songs into an all-star tribute to Willie Nelson at the Hollywood Bowl, attended by a sold-out house happy that Willie ...

By Carissa Wolf Jan 2, 2013 Jan 2, 2013Updated Jul 16, 2020 ...