COPYCENSE

"A music company claiming to own the rights to Woody Guthrie’s ‘This Land is Your Land’ may have gotten more than it bargained for when it took on JibJab Media, the Web animators behind a wildly popular parody of the U.S. presidential campaign.

"The animators on Tuesday beat back copyright infringement charges leveled at their work, which was based on the tune. Attorneys for the company also said they had found evidence that the copyright on Guthrie’s song expired in 1973, meaning that anyone can use it for free.

"’This song belongs to you and me,’ quipped Fred von Lohmann, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which defended JibJab in the case."

Evan Hansen. JibJab Beats Copyright Rap. News.com. Aug. 24, 2004.

Electronic Frontier Foundation. Music Publisher Settles Copyright Skirmish Over Guthrie Classic. Aug. 24, 2004.

Editor’s note: See also SNTReport.com’s prior story on this political parody.