Happy Birthday, You’ve Been Sued I’ve found that it often comes as a surprise that somebody owns the rights to the “Happy Birthday” song (its complete name is “Happy Birthday To You.”) The fact that a part of our common cultural heritage – and an element of countless fond memories – is a piece of intellectual property that is under the control of a multinational corporation, Warner/Chappell, the publishing arm of the Warner Music Group, can seem like one of the more absurd twists of IP law. Nonetheless, Warner claims to own the rights, and it generates annual licensing fees…