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Originally Posted by nostatic
Has the McCain campaign mentioned "fair use" as a defense?
Either the DNC got the rights to the song or Bono doesn't care.
And you know that the only way that copyright essentially exists is for holders to protect their mark.
Is it political? Of course. Art is political. But there also are laws about this sort of stuff. As for the "commercial intent", you don't think there is $$$ at stake here? Also the Lanham Act doesn't require a financial stake if I understand it correctly.
The Star Spangled Banner thing is bad as well, but not unexpected. The Chinese have an "interesting" take on copyright.
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I don't know, I haven't seen their response to Jackson Browne's complaint.
Look, a copyright violation occurs when somebody passes off the work of another as their own with the expectation of profit. If I want to express my First Amendment rights to protest something and I decide to do it by singing "Power In A Union" by Billy Bragg (one of the all-time greats IMHO and my inspiration for picking up the guitar), have I violated Bragg's copyright by using his song in furtherance of my First Amendment Rights? What if somebody hears my protest and decides to buy his record? Haven't I actually stimulated sales by in effect giving him free airtime?
What makes it any different, in the eyes of the law, what my political viewpoint is?
Also, artists ROUTINELY give a blanket license to organizations like ASCAP to perform their works (think cover bands) it's hard to claim that you've been rigorously enforcing it in every case.
Bottom line, this is a thinly veiled attempt to use litigation to harass and delay the Republican Party and supress the First Amendment rights supposedly held dear by the left. I am a staunch Civil Liberterian first and foremost and think it's BS.