Source: http://www.stlr.org/2008/10/john-mccain-and-the-music-makers/
Timestamp: 2013-05-18 11:51:57
Document Index: 143624156

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 102', '§ 115', '§ 106', '§ 106', '§ 106', '§ 114', '§4', '§107', '§ 504', '§ 504', '§ 505', '§ 512', '§ 512']

By STLR on October 31st, 2008 Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign recently raised the hackles of a number of prominent recording artists for using their music in TV ads and at rallies.1 The all-star lineup of affronted artists included Van Halen (for use of “Right Now;” they also objected to George W. Bush’s use in 2004), Foo Fighters (for use of “My Hero” at rallies),John Mellencamp (for use of “Pink Houses”), Jackson Browne (for use of “Running on Empty” by the Ohio Republican Party in ads supporting McCain), Ann and Nancy Wilson of the band Heart (for use of “Barracuda” in introductions for Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin), and the Warner Music Group (for use of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” in ads mocking Barack Obama as a “celebrity.”)2 Some, like the Wilsons, cited opposition to the Republican ticket as their reason for protesting the use of their music. Others, like Van Halen, simply oppose of the use of their music for any political purpose. Regardless of motivation, they almost all rely on the law of copyright to enjoin further use of their music. What rights do recording artists have in circumstances like these? How would Senator McCain go about using the music free of challenge?
One of the authors of this post, being a history major with an affinity for Americana would like to note that presidential campaign songs have a storied history. If you’re capable of recalling your high school American history classes, you may remember that William Henry Harrison’s 1840 presidential campaign got a special mention in your textbook for his campaign jingle, “Tippecanoe and Tyler too.” At some point candidates decided that self-referencing jingles just weren’t doing the trick and turned to popular music. In recent memory, Bill Clinton punctuated the final line of his 1992 convention speech (“and don’t stop thinking about tomorrow!”) by segueing to Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop.” Bob Dole, on the other hand, got into trouble for riffing on the 60s Motown hit “Soul Man,” using the reprise “I’m a Dole Man” for his 1996 presidential campaign.That earned him a reprimand from the song’s writer, Isaac Hayes. [↩]Christopher Sprigman & Siva Vaidhyanathan, Cue ‘Barracuda’, Wash. Post, Oct. 13, 2008, at A21, available athttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/12/AR2008101201630.html. [↩]Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 102(a) (2005). [↩]17 U.S.C. § 115. [↩]17 U.S.C. § 106(4). [↩]17 U.S.C. § 106(1). [↩]17 U.S.C. § 106(3). [↩]17 U.S.C. § 114(a). [↩]You can thank the radio station lobby for that exception, since they wanted to only pay once when they played a recording over the air, but didn’t want competition from internet radio stations. [↩]Bruce P. Keller & Michael P. Cunard, Copyright Law: A Practitioner’s Guide §4:1:4:C (Incorporating Release No. 9 2007). [↩]Id. [↩]Harvey Reid, ASCAP & BMI – Protectors of Artists or Shadowy Thieves? (2005), http://www.woodpecker.com/writing/essays/royalty-politics.html. [↩]17 U.S.C. §107. [↩]17 U.S.C. § 504. [↩]17 U.S.C. § 504(c). [↩]17 U.S.C. § 505. [↩]17 U.S.C. § 512(c). [↩]17 U.S.C. § 512(g). [↩]Sarah Lai Stirland, Stifled by Copyright, McCain Asks YouTube to Consider Fair Use (2008), http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/10/stifled-by-copy.html [↩]Id. [↩]Letter from Zahavah Levine, Chief Counsel, YouTube, to Trevor Potter, Gen. Counsel, McCain-Palin 2008 (Oct. 14, 2008) (available from Sarah Lai Stirland, YouTube to McCain: You Made Your DMCA Bed, Lie in It (2008) http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/10/youtube-to-mcca.html [↩]Id. [↩]Id. [↩]Christopher Sprigman & Siva Vaidhyanathan, Cue ‘Barracuda’, Wash. Post, Oct. 13, 2008, at A21, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/12/AR2008101201630.html [↩]	Categories: Copyright
Tags: Copyright, DMCA, Fair Use, McCain, Music, Politics, YouTube
http://tieguy.org/blog/2008/11/03/on-complications-of-elections-and-ip/	Luis Villa’s Blog / on complications of elections and IP
[...] journal’s blog (recently relaunched, slowly building up momentum) has a good piece on the interactions between the McCain campaign and IP law. Good background for those curious about the issue- how does he fit with YouTube? Does he have to [...]
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