GOP in trouble with....Jackson Browne?

[Guest GodfallenPromos]

Huffington Post article

Singer, songwriter, liberal activist and now John McCain scourge Jackson Browne filed a lawsuit today against the presumptive GOP nominee and the Republican Party for failing to obtain a license to use one of his songs in a television commercial.

The song, "Running on Empty," has been used by the Ohio Republican Party (not the McCain campaign) apparently against Browne's approval. The music icon also claims that in doing so, the false perception is created that he is endorsing McCain's candidacy.

If the whole episode strikes a nostalgic tone, it's because famous musical artists and Republican presidential candidates have butted heads in the past. Bruce Springsteen publicly complained when Ronald Reagan used "Born in the U.S.A" during his campaign in 1984.

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."

This is the second time in a week a celebrity has chastised the McCain camp for allegedly illegally using his or her material. Mike Myers, earlier this week, insisted 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.

[TitsMcGee]

Okay I understand being pissed about the song being used without approval, but why not just sue the people who made the ad, that being the Ohio Republican Party?

[Guest GodfallenPromos]

Okay I understand being pissed about the song being used without approval, but why not just sue the people who made the ad, that being the Ohio Republican Party?

this is where the entertainment industry gets tricky....

you know those messages that say "I am (insert name), and I approve this message"??...even if it's not on the commercial, if the commercial is done in benefit of the canidate, and the artist does not endorse the canidate, nor did any party representing the artist confirm the right to use the property of the artist, the artist can sue any party that would benefit from the use of his/her material, not just those that used it.

Browne has a hell of a case....the ORP fucked up...and now the McCain party gets to get slapped with the suit.

[TitsMcGee]

this is where the entertainment industry gets tricky....

you know those messages that say "I am (insert name), and I approve this message"??...even if it's not on the commercial, if the commercial is done in benefit of the canidate, and the artist does not endorse the canidate, nor did any party representing the artist confirm the right to use the property of the artist, the artist can sue any party that would benefit from the use of his/her material, not just those that used it.

Browne has a hell of a case....the ORP fucked up...and now the McCain party gets to get slapped with the suit.

Yet another reason I should go into entertainment law instead of criminal...

[Guest GodfallenPromos]

Yet another reason I should go into entertainment law instead of criminal...

lol...I think you'll find more loopholes in the entertainment industry then any other industry in the world....we're very good at getting through binds...like...legally...I can go to Spencers and Hot Topic...buy a shyt load of jewelry...or just one pair of earrings...and it comes off my taxes as a business expense...the only thing I can't write off is Liquor...unless I an entertaining business associates...then I can write that off...so if I buy a round for a band I do work with..at a concert..poof..business expense...