A Brooklyn band have filed a lawsuit arguing that Woody Guthrie's ubiquitous folk anthem “This Land Is Your Land” belongs in the public domain, The New York Times reports. Satorii's suit argues that the song does not belong to the Richmond Organization and its Ludlow Music subsidiary, who continue to collect licensing fees for the composition. Satorii and their lawyers—the New York firm Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz—claim that Guthrie's 1945 copyright was never renewed, and therefore, the song would have entered the public domain in 1973. In addition to a declaration of the song's public domain status, the band are asking the publisher to return any licensing fees paid by artists since 2010.

In the recent past, the legal team behind the “This Land” lawsuit have been specializing in these sorts of cases. They're currently working to have “We Shall Overcome” enter the public domain. Last year, the law firm won a case that placed “Happy Birthday to You” in the public domain; Warner Music Group previously claimed ownership of that copyright.

Read “Why a Lawsuit Says ‘We Shall Overcome’ Belongs to Everyone.”