Following an order from a federal judge in New York, the first verse of the civil-rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” is now in the public domain. Folk singer Pete Seeger copyrighted his adaptation of the old spiritual and labor-organizing song in 1963. The Guardian’s Edward Helmore reports:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/sep/11/we-shall-overcome-civil-rights-anthem-copyright-lawsuit