United States copyright law states that almost everything published before 1925 is in the public domain by default. note This makes very little sense because the first publication of the lyrics was around 1911. This case of copyright laws run amok was often subject to Lampshade Hanging, which was really all anyone could do, as WMG was expected to hold the rights to the lyrics until 2031 at the earliest.
note However, given that only the lyrics were under copyright, another Klingon phrase set to the same tune would be fair game. Even foreign language translations were not exempt - Star Trek writers found out that even showing it in Klingon would cost them. The fact that you could've been sued for realistically portraying an Anglophone birthday party is mind-boggling. This little ditty - based on another melody, sung thousands of times a day around the world, and only containing six words - was subject to legal scrutiny for decades.
This is all in stark contrast to the real world, where singing anything other than "Happy Birthday To You" is almost unheard of except when the singers were the waitstaff of certain chain restaurants, for exactly the same reason as media. Martin Luther King Jr.To avoid fees and/or lawsuits, productions typically either substitute a public domain folk song - "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" is one example (British shows may use "A Fine Old English Gentleman" instead), or they just make up their own lyrics which may or may not use the actual melody.
"Happy Birthday" was released as the fourth single of Wonder's Hotter than July (1980) album in June 1981. The song has since become a standard for use during birthdays in general, particularly among African-Americans. become a national holiday, and created this single to promulgate the cause. Wonder, a social activist, was one of the main figures in the campaign to have the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. " Happy Birthday" is a song written, produced and performed by Stevie Wonder for the Motown label.
Excerpts from Martin Luther King's speeches (12-inch)."Happy Birthday" (sing along version, 7-inch).