chinese firm trademarks "happy birthday"

A Chinese company, has trademarked the phrase "Happy Birthday" for children's toys.

Surprisingly enough -- the phrase "happy birthday" has been registered as a U.S. federal trademark more than 20 times for such items as greeting cards, bakery goods and non-alcoholic beverages.

Remember: any word, phrase or symbol can be a trademark as long as it indicates a single origin or source of goods and services.  While not exactly distinctive, the phrase "happy birthday" could arguably come to indicate a single origin or source for each of the goods listed - but - the scope of protection is probably fairly limited due to the overlapping uses (including non-trademark usage).

For more information on trademarks -- download DCR's trademark primer.