The issue of who holds the copyright in national anthems is not
one that comes up much, but it is one that the Ugandan Court of
Appeal recently had to consider.
The Ugandan national anthem is called Oh Uganda, Land of
Beauty. It goes back all the way to 1962, the year in which
Uganda became independent. However, the dispute relating to the
copyright in the anthem was resolved only recently in the case of
Mary Theresa Kakoma, as administrator of the estate of
Professor George W Kakoma v Attorney General Civil Appeal No. 50 of
2011.
The facts are interesting. In early 1962, in anticipation of
independence, the Ugandan authorities asked for entries for a
national anthem in an open competition. Some 50 entries were
submitted, from which a shortlist of four including Oh Uganda,
Land of Beauty, was put forward to a committee set up by the
cabinet of the government of the then Prime Minister (and later
President), Dr Milton Obote.
