Jackson Browne is hopeful that the protection of music copyrights will be bolstered by the settlement of his lawsuit against U.S. Sen. John McCain and the Republican Party over unauthorized use of one of his songs in the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign.
Last August Browne sued McCain, the Ohio Republican Party and the Republican National Committee for copyright infringement, false endorsement and violating his right of publicity after his 1977 hit “Running On Empty" was used without permission in a McCain campaign ad that aired on TV and the Internet. After several defendant motions to have the case dismissed were denied by U.S. District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner in Los Angeles, the parties settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money and a public apology from the Republican camp, along with a pledge “to respect and uphold the rights of artists and to obtain permissions and/or licenses for copyrighted works where appropriate."
“I'm really happy that we got this statement from them," Browne told Billboard.com. “It's great to have it affirmed that these (copyright and usage) laws stand. I've had an idea of how my songs are protected and how money is collected and how making a living as a musician works for my whole career, and it's great to have it affirmed and to know that we're absolutely right in standing up to them."
Browne's attorney, Lawrence Y. Iser, said that for the McCain campaign to use “Running on Empty" in the 2008 spot -- which was aired in Ohio and Pennsylvania -- it would have had to obtain two licenses, one from Browne for the song and another for the recording from the Warner Music Group, whose Asylum Records released “Running On Empty." “They sought neither," said Iser, “nor did they even seek permission."
Last August Browne sued McCain, the Ohio Republican Party and the Republican National Committee for copyright infringement, false endorsement and violating his right of publicity after his 1977 hit “Running On Empty" was used without permission in a McCain campaign ad that aired on TV and the Internet. After several defendant motions to have the case dismissed were denied by U.S. District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner in Los Angeles, the parties settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money and a public apology from the Republican camp, along with a pledge “to respect and uphold the rights of artists and to obtain permissions and/or licenses for copyrighted works where appropriate."
“I'm really happy that we got this statement from them," Browne told Billboard.com. “It's great to have it affirmed that these (copyright and usage) laws stand. I've had an idea of how my songs are protected and how money is collected and how making a living as a musician works for my whole career, and it's great to have it affirmed and to know that we're absolutely right in standing up to them."
Browne's attorney, Lawrence Y. Iser, said that for the McCain campaign to use “Running on Empty" in the 2008 spot -- which was aired in Ohio and Pennsylvania -- it would have had to obtain two licenses, one from Browne for the song and another for the recording from the Warner Music Group, whose Asylum Records released “Running On Empty." “They sought neither," said Iser, “nor did they even seek permission."
