Le Jacquelope
Loves Spam
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2003
- Posts
- 76,445
And his ass is getting SUED for this, lol.
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/08/jackson-browne.html
First Paris, Now This: Jackson Browne Sues John McCain
By Eliot Van Buskirk
August 15, 2008 | 3:27:53 PM
Categories: People
Last week, Jackson Browne's management began receiving emails from people who wondered why the legendary singer and songwriter -- an Obama supporter who doesn't allow his songs to be used in advertisements of any kind -- would permit his iconic rock classic "Running on Empty" to play in a John McCain campaign commercial.
As it turns out, he didn't. According to a lawsuit filed by Browne in US District Court in Los Angeles, the Ohio Republican Party, the GOP and McCain himself are responsible for two illegal acts: infringing on Browne's copyright and creating the false impression that Browne had endorsed John McCain.
"They're embarrassed," said Browne's lawyer Larry Iser, "and they should be."
Indeed, some irony lies in a candidate who is running a law-and-order campaign being sued for intentional copyright infringing and appropriating someone else's identity without their permission.
"When you're a senator, or you're elected president, you take an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States," Iser told Wired.com. "Copyright derives directly from the Constitution… Someone who is running for president needs to set a good example in adherence to the laws."
Neither McCain headquarters nor the Ohio Republican Party responded to our calls after agents at both organizations referred us to leave voicemails.
Iser says that not only should McCain, the Republican National Party and the Ohio Republican Party pay damages in excess of $1 million, but that Americans (who have themselves been somewhat browbeaten over issues of copyright infringement) deserve an apology.
"Instead of the smartaleck comments that are coming out of his campaign," said Iser, "what he ought to be doing is apologizing and letting the youth of America and everybody else in America know that they made a mistake" by infringing Browne's copyright and implying that he endorsed McCain.
Since there's no compulsory right for music synchronization (the pairing of a song with video), McCain and/or his agents appear to have intentionally infringed Jackson Browne's copyright by not seeking permission and paying for the song -- a crime that warrants statutory damages of $150,000, even if no further damage was done.
And Browne alleges that further, more expensive damage was in fact done. His complaint claims (under the Lanham Act) that "because 'Running on Empty' is so famously associated with Jackson Browne, essentially what's been misappropriated here is Jackson's identity," according to Iser. "They've put it in a commercial in a way that says that Jackson Browne is supporting senator McCain."
In addition, Browne does not allow his music to be use in advertisements, which could drive up the value (or associated damages) of his association with a product -- in this case, John McCain.
"The way (cases like this) usually are valued," said Iser, "is you have an expert witness from the music publishing world talking about 'had Jackson Browne granted permission, what would the license fee have been, given his stature, the famousness of the song and the use of it?' In this case, Jackson doesn't give permission for commercials, which means the value – had he done it – would have been very high."
Iser told us that license fees for using a high-profile song like this in an advertisement have exceeded $1 million, and that Browne's request for damages will likely be in that range.
This by no means the first time an artist has sued for wrongfully being associated with a product. Tom Waits successfully sued Frito Lay and its advertising agency in 1992 for $2.5 million, in a false endorsement case upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. And several other artists including John Mellancamp have complained about their songs being appropriated by politicians with whom they do not agree.
But by suing a candidate during a campaign, Browne appears to be entering new territory. Last week, Iser sent the Ohio Republican Party a cease and desist letter demanding that they stop running the ad and pull it from YouTube. They responded last week that they had done so, and as of now, the ad does not appear to be accessible on YouTube or other popular video sharing sites. (Find it? Please email the URL or leave it in a comment.)
Browne's lawsuit names as defendants not only the Ohio Republican Party which produced the ad, but also the GOP and John McCain's campaign.
"The Ohio Republican Party prepared the ad as an agent for and in concert with the national party and John McCain," said Iser. "Ohio, as you know, is a key battleground state in the election (and Google lists plenty of examples of) the close relationship between the national party and the Ohio party. Our information and belief is that none of the state parties are sending stuff out that has not been approved by the national campaign. And particularly in a key battleground state, it's inconceivable to us that this ad was done without the knowledge and consent of the (McCain) campaign."
Would Jackson Brown sue if an ad promoting Barack Obama rather than John McCain had used the song without permission? "I really can't speculate," said Iser, "but I don't believe for a second that Barack Obama's campaign would have taken a Jackson Browne song and used it without his permission. Jackson has played concerts for Barack Obama. They know each other."
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/08/jackson-browne.html
First Paris, Now This: Jackson Browne Sues John McCain
By Eliot Van Buskirk
August 15, 2008 | 3:27:53 PM
Categories: People
Last week, Jackson Browne's management began receiving emails from people who wondered why the legendary singer and songwriter -- an Obama supporter who doesn't allow his songs to be used in advertisements of any kind -- would permit his iconic rock classic "Running on Empty" to play in a John McCain campaign commercial.
As it turns out, he didn't. According to a lawsuit filed by Browne in US District Court in Los Angeles, the Ohio Republican Party, the GOP and McCain himself are responsible for two illegal acts: infringing on Browne's copyright and creating the false impression that Browne had endorsed John McCain.
"They're embarrassed," said Browne's lawyer Larry Iser, "and they should be."
Indeed, some irony lies in a candidate who is running a law-and-order campaign being sued for intentional copyright infringing and appropriating someone else's identity without their permission.
"When you're a senator, or you're elected president, you take an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States," Iser told Wired.com. "Copyright derives directly from the Constitution… Someone who is running for president needs to set a good example in adherence to the laws."
Neither McCain headquarters nor the Ohio Republican Party responded to our calls after agents at both organizations referred us to leave voicemails.
Iser says that not only should McCain, the Republican National Party and the Ohio Republican Party pay damages in excess of $1 million, but that Americans (who have themselves been somewhat browbeaten over issues of copyright infringement) deserve an apology.
"Instead of the smartaleck comments that are coming out of his campaign," said Iser, "what he ought to be doing is apologizing and letting the youth of America and everybody else in America know that they made a mistake" by infringing Browne's copyright and implying that he endorsed McCain.
Since there's no compulsory right for music synchronization (the pairing of a song with video), McCain and/or his agents appear to have intentionally infringed Jackson Browne's copyright by not seeking permission and paying for the song -- a crime that warrants statutory damages of $150,000, even if no further damage was done.
And Browne alleges that further, more expensive damage was in fact done. His complaint claims (under the Lanham Act) that "because 'Running on Empty' is so famously associated with Jackson Browne, essentially what's been misappropriated here is Jackson's identity," according to Iser. "They've put it in a commercial in a way that says that Jackson Browne is supporting senator McCain."
In addition, Browne does not allow his music to be use in advertisements, which could drive up the value (or associated damages) of his association with a product -- in this case, John McCain.
"The way (cases like this) usually are valued," said Iser, "is you have an expert witness from the music publishing world talking about 'had Jackson Browne granted permission, what would the license fee have been, given his stature, the famousness of the song and the use of it?' In this case, Jackson doesn't give permission for commercials, which means the value – had he done it – would have been very high."
Iser told us that license fees for using a high-profile song like this in an advertisement have exceeded $1 million, and that Browne's request for damages will likely be in that range.
This by no means the first time an artist has sued for wrongfully being associated with a product. Tom Waits successfully sued Frito Lay and its advertising agency in 1992 for $2.5 million, in a false endorsement case upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. And several other artists including John Mellancamp have complained about their songs being appropriated by politicians with whom they do not agree.
But by suing a candidate during a campaign, Browne appears to be entering new territory. Last week, Iser sent the Ohio Republican Party a cease and desist letter demanding that they stop running the ad and pull it from YouTube. They responded last week that they had done so, and as of now, the ad does not appear to be accessible on YouTube or other popular video sharing sites. (Find it? Please email the URL or leave it in a comment.)
Browne's lawsuit names as defendants not only the Ohio Republican Party which produced the ad, but also the GOP and John McCain's campaign.
"The Ohio Republican Party prepared the ad as an agent for and in concert with the national party and John McCain," said Iser. "Ohio, as you know, is a key battleground state in the election (and Google lists plenty of examples of) the close relationship between the national party and the Ohio party. Our information and belief is that none of the state parties are sending stuff out that has not been approved by the national campaign. And particularly in a key battleground state, it's inconceivable to us that this ad was done without the knowledge and consent of the (McCain) campaign."
Would Jackson Brown sue if an ad promoting Barack Obama rather than John McCain had used the song without permission? "I really can't speculate," said Iser, "but I don't believe for a second that Barack Obama's campaign would have taken a Jackson Browne song and used it without his permission. Jackson has played concerts for Barack Obama. They know each other."
