http://voices.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2009/07/john_mccain_really_running_on.html?hpid=news-col-blogSinger Jackson Browne has
won his copyright battle against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), getting an apology and an undisclosed sum of money from the 2008 presidential nominee for a pro-McCain Web video that appropriated the artist's hit song "Running On Empty." McCain, the Republican National Committee and the Ohio Republican Party jointly settled the lawsuit and issued a statement Tuesday saying:
"We apologize that a portion of the Jackson Browne song 'Running On Empty' was used without permission. Although Senator McCain had no knowledge of, or involvement in, the creation or distribution of the Web campaign video, Senator McCain does not support or condone any actions taken by anyone involved in his 2008 presidential election campaign that were inconsistent with artists' rights or the various legal protections afforded to intellectual property."
McCain, the RNC and the Ohio GOP Party also pledged to get artists' permission in the future before using their work.Browne, an outspoken liberal, insists his lawsuit was "not a partisan effort. This case was about artists' rights and trying to ensure that our intellectual property rights are respected."
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"What this case means is, just because you're running for office doesn't give you the right to use copyrighted works without license or permission," Iser, a partner with the Los Angeles (Santa Monica)-based firm known as KWIKA, said by telephone. That would suggest that Don Henley of the Eagles, who is suing a Republican Senate candidate, stands to win his case. The defendant, Charles DeVore, is accused of misusing Henley's songs "The Boys of Summer" and "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" without authorization to attack Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).
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McCain has maintained that neither he nor his campaign had anything to do with the making of the video, which was intended as parody to lampoon Barack Obama for suggesting Americans should inflate their tires to save gas. Yet McCain still settled -- final proof, more than six months after the election, that the "Running On Empty" gag backfired.