Australian singer John Williamson has voiced his outrage at moves to strengthen trademark ownership of Waltzing Matilda, saying he'd rather go to jail than pay to use the iconic bush ballad's title.
The trademark controversy has even caught the attention of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has met with the mayor of the outback Queensland town of Winton where the song was written by Banjo Paterson in 1895.
The Australian company which partly owns trademark rights to Australia's unofficial anthem, WM Productions, is seeking to prevent the song's title being used in film merchandise and promotions.
The company has held trademark rights to the song for use in entertainment and film since 1998, but it is now applying for further trademark rights because it's working on a Waltzing Matilda film.
Paterson's great-grandson Alistair Caird-Campbell told News Corp that Waltzing Matilda was written for "all Australians" and not for anyone's profit.
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Williamson says registering words that belonged to all Australians should not be allowed.
"If I had to pay someone to use the words Waltzing Matilda (on merchandise) then I would refuse and I would rather go to jail," he told News Corp.
WM Productions has said it will fight for an extension of its trademark but has also said it respects the iconic nature of the song.
AAP has contacted John Williamson for further comment.
