MADISON, Wis. -- State tourism officials wanted a new tourism jingle but didn't want to pay big royalties, so it had an original song created by a man in Milwaukee.

However, some say the song sounds just like the song “Alright” from the British group, Supergrass.

If it is, not only would that mean $22,000 was wasted on the alleged original song, but the state could face a huge lawsuit for copyright infringement.

The state unveiled the state’s slogan “Life's So Good” and announced plans for the new ad campaign last Tuesday. Now that the ad is out, many can’t help but hear the resemblance. (See Ads )

WISC-TV reporter Steve Van Dinter loaded the commercial and the song onto a laptop and took it around Madison Friday to get people's reaction.

“I had never heard either song before but they seem very, very similar,” said Meg Ingram after hearing them both.

Jerry Huffman, of the Department of Tourism, would not go on camera, but when asked what the difference was between the British song and the one used in the commercial, he answered: The lyrics.

Copyright infringement lawyers say that's not good enough.

“It's a common misconception that you can change a work of art a certain percentage, and avoid infringement,” said Nick Kees, an intellectual property lawyer. “The problem is starting out with something that exists before and changing it, that whole process will only result in copyright infringement.

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New Tourism Slogan

If someone does this knowingly and it can be proved,

the band or record label is able to sue for triple damages -- for each time the ad runs, WISC-TV reported.

Wisconsin taxpayers will have to pay the bill.

In copyright matters, especially for commercials, there is a much smaller burden of proof. Basically if the band were to sue the state, all it would have to do is prove that there was some similarity to its song.

TALKBACK: Do You Have A Better Slogan?