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tazzygirl -> RE: Republican Song Thief Michele Bachmann gets Called out by Tom Petty (6/29/2011 3:42:11 PM)
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That didnt work for McCain.
During August 2008, Browne sued John McCain, the Ohio Republican Party, and the Republican National Committee for using his 1977 hit, "Running on Empty", in an attack advertisement against Barack Obama without his permission.[10] In July 2009, the matter was settled under an undisclosed financial agreement with an apology from the McCain campaign and other parties.[11]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Browne
Though an ASCAP or BMI license is usually all it takes out on the campaign trail, if artists are really mad and feel the use of their music appeared to be an endorsement by them, the artist can sue under various states’ laws about right of publicity, charging false advertising. Another option would be to sue under the Lanham Act, in relation to trademark law.
A whole other ball of wax, so to speak, from playing someone’s song at public events is using an artist’s work in campaign ads. On that front this year, McCain has gotten slaps from Jackson Browne, Mike Myers and Warner Music over a Frankie Valli hit.
The biggest slap: In August, ultra-liberal singer/songwriter Browne filed suit against McCain, the Republican National Committee and the Ohio Republican Party for using “Running on Empty” in a TV ad that ran in Ohio and Pennsylvania mocking Obama’s suggestion that Americans conserve gas by checking their tire gauges. Browne said the ad created the impression that he supports the campaign, which he emphatically does not. Damages sought could run in excess of $1 million.
Iser, Browne’s attorney, said that synchronization rights must be secured to edit a song or part of a song to sync up with video. To use a sound recording of a certain artist with an ad, a master-use license must be purchased.
The McCain camp doesn’t agree. A legal adviser to the campaign said that using a short clip of a song or a short excerpt of copyrighted video falls under fair use. Under U.S. copyright law, the fair use doctrine allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holder, for certain purposes such as teaching or critical review.
“If an artist says ‘Please stop’ and you keep using their song, it looks arrogant and unseemly, which is not what the Republican Party needs right now,” said Robert J. Thompson, a pop culture expert and director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.
He added that the McCain campaign’s manhandling of songs, such as “Barracuda,” could backfire. “It’s like if Burger King used a song in its ads from an artist who sings, ‘I hate Burger King.’ Every time you hear it, it cues you to think, ‘There’s that cool song by that artist who is a Democrat and doesn’t want McCain using their song.’ It serves as an anti-endorsement.”
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=67C8EB08-18FE-70B2-A8A2506C2996203F
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