Birthday
Susannah Mushatt Jones, seated, known as "Miss Susie," celebrates her 116th birthday with family members, local dignitaries, and friends in Brooklyn, New York, July 7, 2015. Reuters/Lucas Jackson

"Happy Birthday to You," might be the most recognized song in the English language, but you still need to pay to sing it. The well-known tune is subject to copyright, which means anyone who wants to perform or reproduce the song must get permission or a pay to do so. However, that might change if one production company has its way.

Warner Music Group has claimed exclusive rights to "Happy Birthday" since the 1980s -- much to the chagrin of restaurant employees and anyone else who would want to play the song in public, the Los Angeles Times reports. However, a film company named Good Morning to You Productions Corp. is filing a class-action lawsuit, arguing that the song should be in the public domain.

Payments for use of the song vary, Billboard says, with a basic license going for $500 to $1,500. However, big-budget films could shell out five or six figures for rights to the song. As such, many productions -- and all chain restaurants -- choose to do without.

The widely familiar melody was written by sisters Mildred J. Hill and Patty Smith Hill around 1890. Their rendition was titled "Good Morning to All." New lyrics were copyrighted as "Happy Birthday" in 1935 by Clayton F. Summy Co., which bought the original song from the Hill siblings.

Today, copyrights generally last for the life of an author, plus 70 years, according to the U.S. Copyright Office. For anonymous works, pseudonymous work or paid work, copyright lasts for 95 years from the date of publication or 120 years -- whichever comes first. When "Happy Birthday to You" was copyrighted, the protection was for 28 years with the possibility of renewal for another 28 year.

The plaintiff's argument rests on the publication of the song in 1922 without a copyright. Since that publication of the song wasn't protected, lawyers argue there wasn't a copyright Warner could claim. Warner's response is that since the Summy Co. needed to get permission from a descendent of Mildred Hill in 1935, there was still claim to the copyright.

If the suit is successful, damages will be heavily disputed. But, more importantly, the rest of us will be able to sing "Happy Birthday to You" without paying for the opportunity to sing it. Since that's exactly what we all do now.