Actually only the words to Happy Birthday are copyrighted, because the melody is from a much older and public domain song called "Good Morning To You".

If you play your music in a commercial setting (restaurant, lounge, banquet hall) there is a good possibility that they have a license from ASCAP (in the USA) and you can legally play the songs there --- as long as they have that license. I often see an ASCAP sticker posted on the window to the manager's/owner's office.

Another big misconception is that as long as no money changes hands, it's OK to trade or download copyrighted material. Nothing can be further from the truth. Money has nothing to do with it. If you sing "Happy Birthday" to a family member in a restaurant that doesn't have a license, you are in violation of the law and technically a criminal.

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and I'm not qualified to give legal advice. This is just my interpretation of the advice I paid a lawyer to give me.

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