Wow, did you know singing Happy Birthday could be a copyright infringement? Check it out here, if you think I’m kidding!

According to United States copyright law in United States Code, Title 17 §106, authors of works such as symbols for facebook” title=”music symbols for facebook”>musical compositions have the exclusive right “to perform the copyrighted work publicly.” In United States Code, Title 17 §101, the law defines publicly performing a work as “to perform or display it at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered.” This means that if you sing Happy Birthday to your family at home, you’re probably not committing copyright infringment. However, if you do it in an restaurant — and if the restaurant hasn’t already worked out a deal with ASCAP — you may be engaging in copyright infringement.

Which means it’s okay to sing it in the privacy of your home, but if you sing it in a restaurant or other public place, uh-oh! I think the solution here is to substitute another song, maybe “Jingle Bells” or “100 Bottle of Beer on the Wall.” Sure it’ll require some adjustment, but life is like that sometimes. Evolve or die.