Time to restructure intellectual property law

Intellectual property law has become a cornerstone for capitalists to thrive at the expense of the working classes.

It is difficult to find a person who hasn’t heard the song “Happy birthday to you” at least once in a lifetime. The fact that it has traditionally been sung to celebrate birthdays makes it the most recognised of songs. But do we know that singing the song in public was prohibited before 2015? Warner Chappell Music, an American music publishing company, owned the copyright to the song until that year; if it had been performed in a public event prior to that, it would have resulted in the violation of the company’s right, followed by a lawsuit. This is one of the primary reasons restaurants tweaked the song and created a version of their own.