Posted by Damozel | I thought the Republicans were the great advocates of draconian copyright laws? They, including McCain, certainly don't seem to mind helping themselves to others' work when it would further their own purposes.
The Ohio Republican party used singer/songwriter and liberal activist Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty" in a political ad mocking Obama's energy policy. Browne is suing them and the McCain campaign. (HuffPost)
The commercial Browne is upset by is a recent spot on energy policy that rips Barack Obama for suggesting that the country conserve gas through proper tire inflation.
"We are confident that Jackson Browne will prevail in this lawsuit. Not only have Senator McCain and his agents plainly infringed Mr. Browne's copyright in Running On Empty, but the Federal Courts have long held that the unauthorized use of a famous singer's voice in a commercial constitutes a false endorsement and a violation of the singer's right of publicity," Lawrence Iser of the Santa Monica, California law firm Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert said in a press release. "In light of Jackson Browne's lifelong commitment to Democratic ideals and political candidates, the misappropriation of Jackson Browne's endorsement is entirely reprehensible, and I have no doubt that a jury will agree." (HuffPost)
Wow, and only last month Mike Myers had to insist "that the Arizona Republican take down a web ad that -- mocking Obama's celebrity -- used a "we're not worthy" clip from his movie Wayne's World. (HuffPost)
And...wait, there's more. Back in July---this is also via HuffPost---Silicon Alley News Warner Music group made YouTube take down "a montage of press fawning" over Obama that used Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You."
Pfft. Damn Republicans. Always stepping all over other people's lawns, TP'ing the trees and eating up all the tomatoes.
Memeorandum blog buzz here.
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