The WSJ follows up on my previous blog post.
Since Michael Jackson died last month, old rumors have resurfaced that he owned the rights to UW-Madison’s fight song, “On, Wisconsin!”It’s not true, at least in the U.S., said Nancy Lynch, senior university legal counsel for UW-Madison. The song is in the public domain here, she said.
“On, Wisconsin!” — which is also the official state song of Wisconsin — was composed in 1909 by W.T. Purdy. Under U.S. copyright law, works published prior to 1923 are considered in the public domain, Lynch said.
Where things get a little murky is whether Jackson, or anyone for that matter, owns the international copyright.
It’s possible, Lynch said, that the song was in the collection of works — including a catalog of Beatles songs — that Jackson bought in 1985 for $47.5 million. But no one at UW-Madison knows, Lynch said. Officials have never been able to find a full list.
My original post didn’t say much different….
Jackson’s ownership of On, Wisconsin reportedly relates only to the international rights to the song. The original composer of the song is deceased and the copyright reportedly has expired. As a result, no one controls the rights in the U.S. and it is part of the public domain.
