'Happy Birthday' manuscript discovered in US library

Librarian James Procell now has a reason to make his next birthday celebration extra special. The director of the music library at the University of Louisville in Kentucky discovered in the archives earlier this week a handwritten manuscript that gave rise to the popular birthday ditty, "Happy Birthday."

Procell told German news agency dpa that he was archiving a folder that had been sitting in the music library since the 1950s when he spotted the 120-year-old manuscript, together with 30 other songs. The "Happy Birthday" tune had been handwritten by Mildred Hill (1859-1916), who composed it together with her sister in 1893.

The original text read "Good morning to you," rather than conveying a birthday wish, though the catchy melody lent itself well to adaptation. Hill had lived in Louisville and her manuscripts and documents are part of the university library's collection - though the score to her most famous song hadn't been sighted in at least six decades.

Should singing 'Happy Birthday' be free?

The finding could intensify a copyright row that has been raging around the tune, which brings in $2 million per year in royalties. Currently, the Los Angeles-based Warner Music Group owns the copyright to "Happy Birthday."

However, a group of American artists led by New York-based filmmaker Jennifer Nelson have taken the music giant to court in a bid to prove that the song should not be the property of a corporation, but should belong to the world.

While no royalties are collected for singing "Happy Birthday" at a private event, the copyright applies as soon as it is performed in public or by a commercial entity.

The court case is based on the assertion that the 1963 renewal of the 1935 copyright on the song is invalid. Last month, a 1922 songbook included the tune without mention of a copyright, which could potentially invalidate any later claim to exclusive rights.

kbm/eg (dpa, Reuters)