Thursday, November 20, 2008

McCain is Fighting Jackson Browne's Lawsuit

During the campaign, Jackson Browne sued to stop McCain from using his song in his campaign. McCain is fighting the suit.
MSNBC: What’s he arguing?

The first is a standard motion to dismiss, claiming that McCain’s use of the song was fair use. The campaign’s fair use reading is based on the application of the standard four-factor test that includes the purpose and character of the use of the song (McCain argues it was non-commercial and transformative); the nature of the work (McCain derides the song as old, old, old, with a title that’s an acknowledged cliche); the amount and substantiality of the use of the song (McCain only used the title phrase, and cites a recent judgment against Yoko Ono, who had sought to prevent the unauthorized use of John Lennon’s “Imagine” in a film); and the effect of the use of the song (McCain says that rather than damage the song’s commercial potential, his use “will likely increase the popularity of this thirty year-old song”).

McCain also says that Browne’s assertion that the Lanham Act’s prohibition on the implication of a “false association or endorsement” fails because it only applies to “commercial speech,” not “political speech.”