The 'Happy Birthday' song was private property for 80 years, and people had to pay money every time they used it in a movie or restaurant.

The famous tune started in 1893 as a song called 'Good Morning to All.' It was written by two sisters, Patty and Mildred Hill, for a kindergarten class in Louisville, Kentucky. Because Patty was a teacher, she wanted a melody that was very easy for small children to sing. The birthday lyrics we know today were added later, appearing in books by 1911.In 1935, a company called Clayton F. Summy Co. registered a copyright for the song. A giant company named Warner/Chappell Music bought those rights in 1988 for about $25 million. For a long time, the song made around $2 million every single year. Movies and TV shows often used the song 'For He's a Jolly Good Fellow' instead because playing 'Happy Birthday' could cost them $10,000.Everything changed because of a filmmaker named Jennifer Nelson. She was making a movie about the song's history and was told she had to pay $1,500 to use it. She decided to sue the music company instead. In 2015, a judge in Los Angeles ruled that the company didn't actually own the rights to the lyrics.By February 2016, the case was settled. The music company had to pay back $14 million to people they had charged over the years. Now, the song is in the 'public domain.' This means it belongs to everyone, and you can sing it anywhere without ever having to pay a fee.