copyright licensing music
Can I play the famous song &quot;The Stars and Stripes Forever&quot; in my mobile phone commercial game ? Is there any copyright issue?
<p>The song " <strong>The Stars and Stripes Forever</strong> " is a very famous song in the US. </p>

<p>The song was composed by <strong>John Philip Sousa</strong> in <strong>1896</strong>. </p>

<p>By a 1987 act of the U.S. Congress, it is the official National March of the United States of America.</p>

<p>Here is the link to Wikipedia about this song: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stars_and_Stripes_Forever" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stars_and_Stripes_Forever</a></p>

<p>Here is the YouTube link so that you can listen to the song:
<a href="https://youtu.be/a-7XWhyvIpE?t=59" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://youtu.be/a-7XWhyvIpE?t=59</a></p>

<p>My questions are:</p>

<p>(1) If I hire some musicians to play this song so that I can record the song, and then play it on a commercial mobile phone app that I develop for sale.  Is there a copyright violation in this case ? </p>

<p>For example, I want to develop a commercial mobile phone app that displays fireworks and plays this song for the Independence Day (July 4th). </p>

<p>(2) Who owns the copyright of this song ? </p>

<p>Is it true that no one owns the copyright because the song was created a long time ago (or more than 75 years ago ? </p>

<p>So, does this mean the song is in the public domain now, and anyone can use it in any commercial application ?</p>

<p>(3) Generally speaking, are there any other sensitive issues such as cultural or political issues if software company plays this song in a commercial app for sale (in a respectful and appropriate manner) ?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>It depends on the terms of your contract with the musicians. Copyright in the performance belongs to the performer so you need to ensure the copyright is transferred or appropriately licensed to you.</p></li>
<li><p>It is public domain. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_the_United_States" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Copyright</a> for US works published before 1978 is a maximum of 95 years from date of publication. Although written on Christmas Day 1896 it wasn't published until 1897. Copyright, therefore, could have lasted until 31 December 1991 at most.</p></li>
<li><p>No.</p></li>
</ol>
