From: filfeit@rael.Tymnet.COM (Fil Feit)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.elections,alt.politics.clinton,alt.politics.bush
Subject: Re: TIME sues Bush/Quayle campaign
Date: 14 Oct 92 12:17:02 GMT
Reply-To: filfeit@rael.Tymnet.COM
Followup-To: alt.politics.elections
Organization: Sun Microsystems

In article FsD@news.cso.uiuc.edu, StarOwl@uiuc.edu (StarOwl) writes:
>Well, it's official.
>
>I just saw the article come across the clarinews feed here.  Time
>magazine is suing the Bush campaign for copyright infringement (I
>think) because of the overuse of Time's cover story on Clinton.
>
>I would repost the article, but I'm not a Republican.  I try and
>respect the copyright rights of others.  ;)
>
Well, I'm not as proud as StarOwl is.  I pulled this off of AP:

Time Says It is Suing Bush Campaign Over Use of Cover in Ad
   WASHINGTON (AP) _ Time Inc. said Tuesday it was filing suit
against President Bush's re-election campaign, charging
infringement of copyright, trademark and other laws because of
unauthorized use of a Time magazine cover in a television
commercial.
   The ad, first aired last Sunday, depicts a Time cover bearing
the negative image of Democratic nominee Bill Clinton and the
caption,  "Why Voters Don't Trust Clinton." 
   In a statement, Time said it decided to sue after lawyers for
Bush's campaign rejected its demand to cease running the commercial
because use of the cover gave the impression that the magazine
endorsed the contents of the ad.
   It released a copy of a letter from Bobby R. Burchfield, general
counsel of the Bush-Quayle '92 campaign committee, that defended
use of the cover as `fair use' under the copyright laws"  and said
 "there is no legal basis for your demand, and we decline to
withdraw the ad." 
   Time said it would file its suit in U.S. District Court in
Washington.
    AP-DS-10-13-92 2001EDT


And this is the preceeding article, for background:

Time Demands Bush Campaign Stop Using Magazine Cover in Ad
EDS: Recasts lead, inserts 1 graf after 2nd graf pvs and subs grafs
6-7 pvs, There was, with 5 grafs to update with campaign refusing
to pull back ad.
By JAMES ROWLEY
Associated Press Writer
   WASHINGTON (AP) _ President Bush's re-election campaign rejected
Time magazine's demand Monday to pull back a TV ad that uses one of
the weekly's covers in accusing Clinton of lying about his draft
record.
   The magazine demanded in a letter sent via facsimile
transmission to Robert Teeter, chairman of the Bush-Quayle
campaign, that it  "immediately cease and desist from any further
broadcast of the commercial which uses Time magazine's image," 
said spokesman Peter Costiglio.
   But Bobby Burchfield, the campaign's general counsel, said the
ad would be kept on the air because it was  "within the bounds of
fair use"  for political purposes of a publication's copyright
logo.
   The 30-second spot, which began airing Sunday in selected
television markets, shows the April 20 cover of Time, which carried
a black-and-white negative print of a Clinton photo and the
headline  "Why Voters Don't Trust Clinton." 
    "We think in using the cover of Time magazine in the commercial
it constitutes an infringement of the copyright and the trademark
of Time Inc., the publisher of Time,"  Costiglio said.
    "We are also concerned that there is a suggestion of the
commercial that Time endorses the commercial's contents," 
Costiglio said.
   If the campaign refuses to pull the spot,  "the next step would
be legal action on our part,"  Costiglio said.
   Burchfield defended the TV spot, saying:  "Our ad is perfectly
consistent with the title of the magazine. Time chose those words,
we didn't choose those words." 
   The Bush campaign's lawyers researched the issue before the spot
was aired and determined that  "this sort of activity has pretty
broad First Amendment protection and falls squarely within the
statutory exemption for fair use under the copyright laws," 
Burchfield said.
    "Moreover, the use of headlines, mastheads, magazines covers
and political advertisements is quite common and copyright claims
are very rarely pressed, if ever, in that context,"  he said.
   But Costiglio said that in the past Time Inc. had gotten
political campaigns to stop using magazine logos in advertisements.
   The Time cover with the ghoulish image of Clinton appeared on
newsstands after the Democrat had won a bruising New York primary
fight but was still facing questions about how he avoided the
Vietnam draft.
   The cover story was entitled  "Questions, Questions,
Questions." 
   The Bush campaign ad opens with an image of the Clinton picture
as an announcer attacks Clinton's draft record.  "He said he was
never drafted. Then he admitted he was drafted." 
   It closes with a shot of the entire cover of the magazine as the
announcer says:
    "The question then was avoiding the draft. Now, for Bill
Clinton, it's a question of avoiding the truth." 
    AP-DS-10-12-92 1747EDT


--f2
--------------------
  "A plague on both their houses"
  --either Mercutio or George Bush's last words

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