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.

The practical implications are this: If someone does own the copyright, he or she has never tried to stop UW from playing or selling it on albums.

“We stick by the understanding that it’s in the public domain,” she said. “We’re using it. We’ve not had anyone articulate to us that our use of it is a problem.”

Read the On Campus blog: www.madison.com/wsj/blogs/oncampus