Posted by David McCall on 11/07/05 02:58

"Larry J." <usenet2@DE.LETE.THISljvideo.com> wrote in message
news:Xns97057D0796C3Dthefrogprince@68.6.19.6...
> Waiving the right to remain silent, "Gary P" <nospam@thankyou.com>
> said:
>
>> Well I hope you guys voluntarily pay royalties every time you
>> sing "Happy Birthday"
>
> AFAIK, I can go into the street and sing "Happy Birthday" all day
> long - as long as my neighbors don't shoot me - wihout infringing on
> copyright.
>
> But, if I try to use the song for TV, radio, or sync it in any way
> for a production, that's where the owner's rights kick in.
>
That sounds about right, but it might be somewhat worse than that.
My understanding is that restaurants can't have their wait staff sing
Happy Birthday to their customers without paying. That is why they
have those stupid alternate songs to sing instead.

Laws are broken all of the time. Many of them are not usually
enforced, but remain in place just in case someone wants to
prosecute you. Perhaps Persecute might be more accurate.

David

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