‘Happy Birthday’ Headed to Public Domain

My birthday is on Valentine's Day, and that's so not cool.

For years I agonized over my birthday. It was horrible to know that on MY day, everyone else was out being wined and dined and MY day was spent sans flowers and fancy meal because I was either A) single or B) with someone, but the person I was with told me he wouldn't take me out or get me flowers because both were too expensive. Oh, wait! There was that year he took me out to dinner. But he didn't have a reservation and they said we could sit at the bar, but we only had 30 minutes to order and eat before the kicked us out to make room for those who'd made reservations. After shoveling five star food down my throat with barely time to chew, I got to be his designated driver because he decided he wanted to stop at a bar and get plastered. Happy birthday to me.

So, yeah. No flowers or dinner for my birthday or for Valentine's Day. For years on end.

And then I met my husband. If sainthood were offered to husbands, mine would be a top contender. Jay goes above and beyond to make my birthday special because he knows all about the years of sadness I endured. As I type that out, I realize how silly it sounds, but it was a big deal to me. Jay always makes sure that I have flowers for both my birthday and Valentine's Day and he treats me to a lovely meal. Sometimes that meal is homemade and sometimes we go out, but he puts effort into my day and that is more than anyone other than my mother has ever done for me on my birthday.

I completely understand how expensive it can be to go out for a meal on Valentine's Day and because we have a little guy and basically all our money goes to feeding and diapering him, I told my husband that I was absolutely okay with going out for dinner on a day other than my birthday to save some money and I said he could pick the place.

So, my husband took me out to Texas Roadhouse for my birthday. Our meal was going great until I felt a hand on my shoulder and when I turned, a young guy asked me to step out of our booth and on to a big saddle on wheels. He and his co-workers then announced to the restaurant that I was there to celebrate my 36th birthday and they sang a silly song to me. I was mortified. I mean, the attention was kind of cool. The announcing to the world that I'm turning 36 wasn't.

If you've ever gone out for dinner on your birthday and wondered why the wait staff sings some crazy birthday song to you instead of singing 'Happy Birthday to You,' it's because singing that song in public has been illegal. Seriously!

All of that is about to change though as a federal court settlement is about to free the world's most popular song from royalties.

A deal was unveiled on Monday in a federal courtroom and the deal says that music publisher giant Warner/Chappell will allow "Happy Birthday to You" to pass into the public domain with $14 million to be distributed among those who paid royalties to license the song since 1949.

If you're holding your breath wondering if you'll ever be slammed with fees for singing that song, fear not. Individuals who sang it at private events such as family parties were never in jeopardy, but those who sang the song in movies or commercials earned Warner/Chappell an estimated $2 million a year in royalties.

[Reuters]